Jamison Priest, Dreams I'll Never Know (independent, 2006) The inclusion of a long (more than 20 minutes) radio interview at the end of Dreams I'll Never Know fits in with the whole and adds more to the package as you get up close and personal with the members of Jamison Priest. There is a warmth and grace in the vocals of "Weatherman," as the song uses weather imagery to tell the emotional lay of the land. The band switches vocalists for "The Only Sound," a song that builds on the themes and mood. The liner notes contain more information about the story that gave rise to "Lost Generation (The New London Song)." The quiet disillusionments of life provide some of the stories that "Fairytale" tells in a soft voice. Another trip back it time gives us "Cynthia Ann Parker," which quietly asks about home, family and land. "She Just Happens to Love Me" is a quiet, simple song with the sound echoing back to the '60s. The melody and words of "Montecatini" are very relaxing as they sit back and look at people in the busyness of the day to day. They continue to serve up a slice of the everyday with "Small Town Sara," a lovely tribute to a person met on the way. It may not be as smooth as the other songs, but it still fits in with the rest. The soft tones of "Two-Lane Road" let the emotions slowly build through the song, by the time the song ends they will take your breathe away. Another song for the road follows "Itinerant Poet" even if the journey hasn't started. "Infamy" starts out slowly, as the story slowly unfolds the pieces told combine with the liner notes to complete the picture. The whimsy in "Mary Mild" makes a nice contrast of mood and lets you smile for a spell. They do a lovely cover of "Wrote a Song for Everyone," and the interview that follows is an interesting introduction to the group and how they think. There are also a couple of songs hidden in here, you just have to filter out some of the date sensitive portions. The songs here are connected to each other by shared themes, but that doesn't mean each track isn't complete on its own. The fact that an interview fits in the CD probably says as much about them as individuals as the songs say about them as musicians and all of it is to the good. [ visit the artist's website ] |
Rambles.NET review by Paul de Bruijn 7 February 2009 Agree? Disagree? Send us your opinions! |