Jeff Black - B-Sides and Confessions, Volume Two

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Jeff Black – B-Sidesand Confessions, Volume 2
2013, Lotos Nile MusicJeff Black brings old school, road-warrior attitude into thedigital age.  No stranger to the highwaysand byways, Black also uses his podcast, BlackTuesdays, to connect fans and try out new things.  The result is that Black has one of the mostfervent followings in the alt-Americana genre. Acknowledged as a top-notch songwriter, Black has had songs recorded byartists such as Alison Krauss, Waylon Jennings, Dierks Bentley, Sam Bush andBlackhawk.  Jeff Black returns on January15, 2013 with B-Sides and Confessions,Volume 2, and just like a train with cargo to deliver, Black shows no signsof slowing down.The confessions begin with “All Right Now”, a musicalmonologue for a man who has gone through hell and come out the other side.  The folksy-blues arrangement is subtle andnot overdone, allowing Black’s rough-hewn voice to hold sway.  It’s a compelling opening salvo. “Molly Rose”takes on the expected Celtic air in a tragic song of love and valor.  It’s a reminder that sometimes when you winyou lose, and sometimes when you lose; you win. Black’s deft handling of the vocal/story-telling is a master-class inthe art of the singer-songwriter. “Avalon” is about a man willing to forsake all for a magical world.  This quixotic quest plays out in spite ofloved ones at home, and listeners can argue over whether the quest is noble orill-gotten, the picture of a man obsessed to move heaven and earth to find adream is crystal clear.Black next settles into the plaintive tones of “Impala”, aquiet contemplation featuring Black’s voice intermingled with piano andguitar.  This ‘down’ moment has the airof quiet reflection, a moment not generally open to the air revealed here insong.  “Alice Carry” is a quiet reflectionon love; marriage, family and a life full of memories.  Black brings the character of Alice alivehere as a living, breathing person full of the spark of life.  Memories flow like laughter and tears, andthe characters and places Black describes are palpably real.  “Days On End” has a listless feel – not thesong but the character; a deep melancholy and fatalism descend over the songlike a pall.  Artistically and musicallythis song is striking, though one of the quieter moments on the album.“Miss Me” has a sort of trouble beauty to it.  It’s a song of apology from a man who wentaway and is finally finding his way home. Reasons are hard to come by, but understanding of his needs descends allthe same.  It’s a song full of humanfrailty and need from a man who is still trying to figure things out, butfinally understands where he belongs. Black gets down to an old-time country/folk feel that’s reminiscent ofBob Dylan in “A Evil Lesson Is Soon Learned”. This entertaining number has a free-form feel that’s catchy, but Blackdoesn’t sacrifice an ounce of his story-teller’s pastiche in the process.  “Good Old Days” is a song of wisdom, reminding listenersthat these are the days we will one day look back on.  It’s a carpe diem message of sorts; areminder to make the most of the moment so that when you look back to here oneday it’s not with regret.  Black’s grittyvocal is the perfect match to a minimalist arrangement that neverthelessexplodes with quiet energy.  “True LoveNever Let Me Down” is a Springsteen-esque declaration of simple truths.  Black explores the song’s backwaters with atumbling arrangement that seems to accentuate the thought behind the lyrics,but the declarative nature of the song and its repetitive theme lend power tothe message.  “Remain” is another quietreflection on simple truths.  Love andthe ties that band are the powerful magic in this song, and Black navigatesthem as a man who never truly understands but appreciates the magicnonetheless.  B-Sides And Confessions, Vol. 2 closes with the contemplativestrains of “Sunday Falling”, nicely wrapping the song cycle with memories of anidyllic Sunday afternoon.  Black paintspictures with words here that are hard to ignore. Jeff Black brings gritty beauty and grace to a collection ofmemories, stories and observations on B-SidesAnd Confessions, Vol. 2.  If we’renever entirely clear on where the lines between memory, reverie and hope standthen nothing has been lost.  Black paintsover the edges in seamless fashion, allowing the listener to suspend disbelieffor an hour or so and simply be in the music. This is, perhaps, a musicians’ greatest gift to his/her fellow man; theability to transcend, suspend and simply be. Black plies that gift, that talent, to perfect here.  B-Sidesand Confessions, Volume 2 is nothing less than a Wildy’s World Certified DesertIsland Disc.Rating: 5 Stars(Out of 5) Learn more at www.jeffblack.com.