Customer Reviews

Cool Me Down

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Jenai reminds me of the early Shelby Lynne, who used her smoky voice to transcend "country" and "blues", and mold her own sultry style. Jenai, likewise, uses this quality to infuse her songs with seductive allure. "Cool Me Down" is a CD highlighted by great vocals, tight (yet sparse) instrumentation and an upbeat, let's have fun motif. Her reworking of Lynne's "A Little Unlucky at Love" is marvelous. "Southside Stomp" is also fun and highly listenable.
The whole set cooks; let's just hope country music stations give her the airplay she deserves!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

I bought this CD after seeing the video for "Southside Stomp". Jenai is truly a refreshing new sound.

Most of the songs are upbeat (I subtracted a star because the CD could use a couple more changes of pace). The standouts are "Southside Stomp", the Texas-swinger "Papa Don't Ask, Mama Don't Know" and the mellow, blues-y "It Won't be Me". "Loraine" is about that 'fast' girl everyone knows and is a toe-tapping song with a great drumbeat. I listen to this CD a lot at work, it makes the time go by quickly and is just a lot of fun.

The best way to describe this is Shania Twain singing traditional songs. Very energetic music. Not over-produced by any means. Awesome voice.

I got very surprised over the amazing songs on this CD as it didn't get so highly rated by others. The more I hear it, the more I love it. Jenai has a great countryvoice and sounds down to earth. Fortunately she's no new Ms Twain using samples and poppy themes. Jenai offers more roots and barefoot country with great genuine instrumentation and a clean and great production. Way to go. I wanna hear it over and over and over and over.......COOL ME DOWN!

having traversed those backwoods in idaho, and futtered around the seattle area (w/a friend or 2 attended cornish) its interesting that i'd not crossed paths with the very unique talent that is jenai...but being the singer/songwriter, with an ear for a melody...i suppose its only a matter of time.
jenai's got the look and the talent to be a headliner. the only questions that remain are: does she want to? and does she have the support around her to help her get there? her one CD is always handy. some very sweet chords, with a very nice voice indeed. there's a lot to be fond of with her. maybe...just maybe she'll have a chance to be that songbird for the coming era of country music.
hope you'll read this...because if you do, then you'll know.
i think you'd do an excellent rendition of my "more than roses".
be well and God bless.

GOOD GRIEF!!! Who cares if a musician doesn't reveal their 'MUSICAL INNARDS'. Jenai's kaleidoscope of styles has something for every country music fan to enjoy. This disc reveals a singer who is talented enough to present her many facets in a delightful collage.

Buy it and enjoy it. It doesn't need to be dissected.

She is incredible. We have this CD and its one of our favorites.

Unlike the entertainment icons whose last names are obscured by actual fame, the self-christened one-name artist appears to be overstriving for attention. And that goes double for artists whose chosen name requires a pronunciation guide (it's Je-NIGH, by the way). True to form, the debut album from this Idaho-bred, Nashville-groomed singer/songwriter/bassist is a competent, well-crafted spin that breaks no new ground, and, with the right promotion could push several cuts onto the country chart.

Producer Brent Maher skirts the edges of Nashville slickness on a few tunes, including Kieran Kane's title track, and the Jamie O'Hara penned "Be a Woman." There's a bluesiness akin to Bonnie Raitt (by way of Sheryl Crow by way of Deana Carter) on several tracks, though Nashville's studio hands keep it from ever really igniting. Maher deploys the same sly blues-gilding he previously lent to The Judds and Shelby Lynne (the latter of whose "Written on My Heart" is covered here).

Unfortunately, Jenai and Maher don't sustain any one artistic direction long enough to flesh out something new. There's something to be said for eclectic tastes, but the smorgasbord of styles on this LP never reveals the artist's musical innards. The torchy "Written On My Heart" evokes Countrypolitan, "It Won't Be Me" devolves into Nashville Adult Contemporary balladry, "Papa Don't Ask, Mama Don't Know," is spiced with a swing beat, and "South Side Stomp" adds Zydeco touches. All of these seem like styles worn as a coat, rather than feelings generated from within.

Several tracks borrow heavily from Shania Twain, and Maher's own "Little Unlucky at Love" is recycled from his 1993 Shelby Lynne production, "Temptation." Jenai's trio of co-writes (two with her producer) show her to be well-versed in modern country and able to craft a hummable melodic hook.

Like so many who've shuffled through Nashville's major label mill, Jenai is a talented vocalist whose originality seems to have been groomed away. One can only wonder what was lost in the process.

2-1/2 stars, if Amazon allowed fractional ratings.