Jonathan Edwards - Tomorrow’s Child
Rising Records
I’m once again getting into a nostalgia kick as I listen to this latest album by veteran singer-songwriter Jonathan Edwards. It was way back in 1972 that I first heard this American troubadour and his classic hit Sunshine and one of my all-time favourite country songs, the Darrell Stattler-penned Honky Tonk Stardust Cowboy. Over the years I’ve collected most of Jonathan’s albums, the last one prior to this was MY LOVE WILL KEEP, some four years ago. However good those albums are, this new one is something extra special. The songs on TOMORROW’S CHILD are personal, but they also invite the listener to settle into them with ease and familiarity. Taking a break from writing hit singles for a myriad of country artists, front-porch philosopher Darrell Scott has taken the time to produce what is quite simply, a great record. The uncluttered sound masterfully blends acoustic guitars, the occasional piano, double bass, pedal steel as well as the odd banjo, concertina, mandola, Dobro, fiddle and cello, so that listeners get an up-close, front-row seat into what has made Jonathan Edwards one of the most intense and passionate performers of his generation.
This is the kind of album that you can’t just put on in the background, whilst focusing on a distraction. It draws your attention in with accessible tunes, ironic humour and songs that tell narrative stories, in the often touted but rarely practised country tradition. The songs, whether self-penned or from the pens of others, are based in hardship and troubles, yet mirror his constant vibe of hope, redemption, love and a spirituality that permeates every digital byte on this CD. Each word on the album is a product of Jonathan’s careful attention to detail, whether it be the fictional The Girl From The Canyon or the autobiographical Jonny’s Come Home. The latter is a song about joyfulness tinged with regret. And coming home. And reclaiming things presumed gone. And grace, after making mistakes, all woven into a true story of a journey of emancipation from the first word to the last. He is joined by Vince Gill on harmony vocals on The Girl From The Canyon, which Jonathan wrote and first recorded with Emmylou Harris back in the 1970s. Vince also joins in on the delightful Sandy Girl, in which Jonathan finds the magic and beauty in small everyday moments of life, dressing them in sonic colours and delicate webs of sound.
Sprinkled among the many original songs is a unique revival of Marcus Hummon’s achingly beautiful and understated Tomorrow’s Child. The delicate harmonies are provided by Alison Krauss while Jonathan’s voice, warm and elastic, rings out strong and clear. Malcolm Holcombe’s Down In The Woods, sounds like a long lost Appalachian mountain song. Much of that has to do with the overlay of acoustic bluegrass timbres as the powerful lyrics speak of struggle, redemption and again, struggle. This is the same theme for Stephen Foster’s traditional Hard Times, which is sung more-or-less a cappella in a deeply emotional trio format with Sarah Dugas and Odessa Settles.
Ringing with the honesty and truth of a singer whose emotional strength and keening quality come from Appalachian heritage and its deep roots of hardship and heartache, Jonathan Edwards enthuses with such passion, and charisma throughout his performances, it leaves the listener spell-bound and desperate for more. This is have one of the most evocative records you’re likely to hear this year. Make sure that you go out of your way, if needs be, to get yourself a copy. Mark my words, you’ll be rewarded over and over again.
www.jonathanedwards.net
I’m once again getting into a nostalgia kick as I listen to this latest album by veteran singer-songwriter Jonathan Edwards. It was way back in 1972 that I first heard this American troubadour and his classic hit Sunshine and one of my all-time favourite country songs, the Darrell Stattler-penned Honky Tonk Stardust Cowboy. Over the years I’ve collected most of Jonathan’s albums, the last one prior to this was MY LOVE WILL KEEP, some four years ago. However good those albums are, this new one is something extra special. The songs on TOMORROW’S CHILD are personal, but they also invite the listener to settle into them with ease and familiarity. Taking a break from writing hit singles for a myriad of country artists, front-porch philosopher Darrell Scott has taken the time to produce what is quite simply, a great record. The uncluttered sound masterfully blends acoustic guitars, the occasional piano, double bass, pedal steel as well as the odd banjo, concertina, mandola, Dobro, fiddle and cello, so that listeners get an up-close, front-row seat into what has made Jonathan Edwards one of the most intense and passionate performers of his generation.This is the kind of album that you can’t just put on in the background, whilst focusing on a distraction. It draws your attention in with accessible tunes, ironic humour and songs that tell narrative stories, in the often touted but rarely practised country tradition. The songs, whether self-penned or from the pens of others, are based in hardship and troubles, yet mirror his constant vibe of hope, redemption, love and a spirituality that permeates every digital byte on this CD. Each word on the album is a product of Jonathan’s careful attention to detail, whether it be the fictional The Girl From The Canyon or the autobiographical Jonny’s Come Home. The latter is a song about joyfulness tinged with regret. And coming home. And reclaiming things presumed gone. And grace, after making mistakes, all woven into a true story of a journey of emancipation from the first word to the last. He is joined by Vince Gill on harmony vocals on The Girl From The Canyon, which Jonathan wrote and first recorded with Emmylou Harris back in the 1970s. Vince also joins in on the delightful Sandy Girl, in which Jonathan finds the magic and beauty in small everyday moments of life, dressing them in sonic colours and delicate webs of sound.
Sprinkled among the many original songs is a unique revival of Marcus Hummon’s achingly beautiful and understated Tomorrow’s Child. The delicate harmonies are provided by Alison Krauss while Jonathan’s voice, warm and elastic, rings out strong and clear. Malcolm Holcombe’s Down In The Woods, sounds like a long lost Appalachian mountain song. Much of that has to do with the overlay of acoustic bluegrass timbres as the powerful lyrics speak of struggle, redemption and again, struggle. This is the same theme for Stephen Foster’s traditional Hard Times, which is sung more-or-less a cappella in a deeply emotional trio format with Sarah Dugas and Odessa Settles.
Ringing with the honesty and truth of a singer whose emotional strength and keening quality come from Appalachian heritage and its deep roots of hardship and heartache, Jonathan Edwards enthuses with such passion, and charisma throughout his performances, it leaves the listener spell-bound and desperate for more. This is have one of the most evocative records you’re likely to hear this year. Make sure that you go out of your way, if needs be, to get yourself a copy. Mark my words, you’ll be rewarded over and over again.
www.jonathanedwards.net