First things first: happy birthday to Jay Nash! Don’t know the number but who cares. He’s having a great time touring the US as you can see on the Evening of the Feeling Song Tour with Tony Lucca and others. There are a slew of videos on youtube.com featuring Jay, Tony & crew– this post happens to include a really interesting one. See it at the bottom of the post.
What I find the most interesting is that the “Jay Nash” I see in the video has a distinct counterpoint to the voice on the CD & EP “The Things You Think You Need“ and “All the Stars in Copenhagen”
I have already reviewed ” The Things You Think You Need” on this blog so we can skip past that. However I didn’t realize till now that while I was concentrating on Jay’s podcasts and addicted to listening “All the Stars in Copenhagen” (worn through one disk already. Got another one), that I hadn’t reviewed it.
The EP All the Stars in Copenhagen is a 4 song EP with a bonus track — so it’s really 5 for the price of 4– which is such a bargain because this is one of Nash’s finer works and is an evolution much like Will Dailey’s EP releases throughout the year. Working on a few songs at a time that are current with where the songwriter/musician is at that time and releasing them makes them more powerful and easier to connect with as they are performed and as you hear them on the CD or mp3 player.
Track one, Raniest September is a rather somber sounding tune that’s about a wedding where he actually performed. It was raining for days and the wedding party got wet but that didnt’ stop the party from continuing nor did it mar the happiness and joy of the two getting married. In the course of this track, Nash shows serious eloquence in his translation of the ephemeral feelings of the wedding party and the groom about getting married and the absolute joy with which they were beginning a new segment of their lives. It’s really a beautiful song and it’s rich in emotional content– that might take a few listens to catch the nuances that Nash imbues in this song.
Track two Statues and Memories is the counterpoint to Rainiest September in musical presentation being an extremely upbeat number with a perfectly addictive quality to it and the lyrics are really heart-wrenching as Nash as the “everyman” realizes that this woman is tearing him up and he’s not quite sure what to do but this emotionial trainwreck is something that he is walking away from. This one takes a few sessions (ok more than a few.. I get caught up in the musical quality before I get into lyrics. I ride the wave of the musicianship). His organic writing/lyrics bring you personal experiences that we have all felt, places where we have been before. It’s the connection that Nash brings to the songs that make this EP (along with the previous CD) an addiction that keep you dialed in to the music and it replays and winds up as the soundtrack of your brain.
click here for more videos like this
The third track, Everything is incredibly deep and a song for a woman who tries too hard to be and have everything she thinks is part of a “perfect life” and that she must be equally perfect. Life isn’t perfect. It’s as much about the bumps as it is the rush of the rises — and as Nash talks to this woman via the song, it’s all about “stepping away from the light” and realizing that while she wants her life to be poetry and maybe it’s not what she wants it to be, it doesn’t mean that love isn’t there and or that the relationship in process is negative. It’s the process, not the destination that’s important. Jay’s presentation smoulders, is so achingly deep that it can hurt if you hear it at the wrong time. As his voice has gotten richer and deeper, the presentation and deft handling of the lyrics and music make this one of his most romantic songs. The organ or whatever keyboard is playing gives it an almost hymnal feel. It’s about believing.. and trusting. *(I keep listening to this one)
Track 4 Unshakeable — an amazing, acoustic start-up of a relationship in trouble yet still connected and these two people know that they have problems but they can’t leave or live without the other. The emotion and connections are too powerful between these people to allow them to stop hurting each other or to leave. They are together and together they are “unshakeable” despite the pain that they might cause in the course of the relationship. One wonders where this song is taking Nash and what and how it depicts things in your life as well.
Bonus Track Five: Baby Tornado. As Jay said in an earlier podcast, this was re-recording of an older song of his in the fabulous Sun Studios in Memphis Tenn. Featuring Garrison Starr In the video (and on the EP) on myspace.com, he talks about how it’s a mix of the touring experience plus a bit of personal life. It’s really easy to see how much this could be both things.. a commentary about how touring takes you away, far away and then also how a “crush” could do the same thing. It’s really an interesting and while mellow song, it’s one that will have you humming and singing in nothing flat. I love that Nash is so openly expressive of his emotions and his vocals underscore the lyrics making the songs more impressive, deeper and more thoughtful than one might hear in commericial music.
If you want to see Jay Nash and Tony Lucca, make sure you hit these spots:
Sep 6 2009 1:00P Ventura Hillsides Festival (with Dave Mason, The Neville Brothers and more) Ventura, California
Sep 8 2009 8:00P Martyr’s w/ Tony Lucca and Matt Duke Chicago, Illinois
Sep 10 2009 7:00P Birdy’s w Tony Lucca and Matt Duke Indianapolis, Indiana
Sep 12 2009 8:00P Club Cafe w/ Tony Lucca and Matt Duke Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Sep 13 2009 8:00P World Cafe Live w/ Tony Lucca Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Sep 15 2009 5:00P Barnes & Noble Lincoln Triangle w/ Tony Lucca & Matt Duke New York, New York
Sep 15 2009 8:00P Canal Room w/ Tony Lucca New York, New York
Sep 16 2009 8:00P Middle East Upstairs w/ Tony Lucca Boston, Massachusetts
Sep 17 2009 8:00P The Turning Point w/ Tony Lucca Piermont, New York
Sep 20 2009 7:00P Jammin Java w/ Tony Lucca Vienna, Virginia
Sep 22 2009 7:00P 3rd and Lindsley w/ Tony Lucca Nashville, Tennessee
Sep 23 2009 8:00P Smith’s Olde Bar w/ Tony Lucca Atlanta, Georgia
Sep 24 2009 7:00P Medusa’s w/ Tony Lucca Greenville, South Carolina
Sep 25 2009 8:00P Hotel Carolina Isle of Palms, South Carolina
Sep 26 2009 7:00P Hotel Carolina Isle of Palms, South Carolina
Sep 27 2009 7:00P Evening Muse w. Tony Lucca Charlotte, North Carolina
Oct 10 2009 12:00P Riverview at Vasa Park – as Low Stars
Stevie Wilson
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