Customer Reviews

If the World Was You

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Put simply: I love this collection. That comes as no surprise, since I consider Souther to be one of the finest songwriters of the late 20th (and now 21st) century. This album is not exactly indescribable--I shall endeavor to describe it--but it is uncategorizable. JD's new one will baffle the music industry because the industry has become so pathetically narrow in its niches. That it will be baffled is a good thing!

The album is not exactly groundbreaking; it is, in fact, grounded in the past. It is not exactly trail-blazing because it follows not only the road not taken but the road unlikely to be taken by anyone else. We have seen great song writers like Danny O'Keefe and Randy Newman dabble around the edges of this untapped genre, and Souther himself, especially on his album Black Rose, had his toes in the water of this approach, but here it comes at us full blown (brass pun intended). Lieber and Stoller meet Mongo Santamaria and Bill Monroe at Chet Baker's house down in Cuba.

Souther's Texas drawl, even more pronounced than in the past, croons and smoothes and squeaks and slides in and out of the melodies, while horns and banjos and pianos take the place of lead guitars and the brushes shush the snare. The description of his voice may not sound flattering, but it is; it has become what it he intended it to be: a beautiful, jazz instrument. The co-founder of the cool, LA country/rock school has graduated.

The lyrics are typical Souther, only more so: Literate, complex, catchy, clever, and even, dare I say it, occasionally profound. Compare that to anything on any of the pop, country, hip hop, or R&B charts of today. There is truly nothing like this uniquely Southerian amalgam. It has tinges of bluegrass jazz, but it's not "dawg" music. It has old school, 50's rock rhythms with Amiri Baraka-style meticulously crafted, improv sounding jazz combo accompaniment, but it's not exactly jazz. It has country and folk essences, but it is neither. And it is all of the above.

If you care about songs and songwriters, this one is a must have.

I've always considered Souther the underdog of that 70's California sound, the guy that nobody knew, but whose songs everyone had heard and hummed. Other perfomers like Browne, Zevon, Henley-Frey, et al, got the lion's share of attention. But that was because they demanded it, and wanted it more. Souther took a slower, more sensible (at least for him, as it turned out) approach, and managed to create a pretty comfy existence writing for himself and others. There was little or no desperation evident in the albums he made. His songs did all the talking.

I was tempted to only give this new one 4 stars, due to the (false) impression that he refused to be who he was. But then I realized that the music on "If The World Was You" represents a maturation of some earlier musical themes. Two tunes from "Black Rose", "Doors Swing Open" and the bass and acoustic guitar version of "Silver Blue" were early evidence that Souther's passion was jazz. The country rock hybrid was easier to put out there, and perhaps more lucrative. To those who long for those old ballads, like "Faithless Love" (arguably one of the greatest songs of the last several decades), I understand the longing. But I gave Souther that extra star for ambition, the good kind, and for feeling confident enough to say just as much (or more) with less, lyrically speaking. And yes, Eugene (see his review) I could have done without the epic-length track, too, but sometimes you get that on jazz records. That was a bit of a blemish, I admit.

Old dogs who have been around for awhile, but who aren't ready to lay down, can use fewer words, and more meaningful silences, to say what they've always said.

There's a lot that's new here. None more pronounced than the fact that there isn't one line sung in harmony. For JD Souther, that's quite a departure. But there's also a lot, if you've been a fan as long as I have, that will be familiar. I love this album. It's been playing in my CD player since I bought it. "Looking for a place to lay you down, but I don't want to make you cry" could have come right out of anything he's ever done. His voice is just as it always was....plaintive, clear, musical. A little bit of Texas opera. Someone wrote here that he still sounds like Glen Frey. I disagree with that. He, like David Crosby, is in an age-defying league of his own. The jazz accompaniment is not at all unexpected. More so than any of his old contemporaries, Jazz was never too far away. Listen to "Trouble in Paradise", or "Doors Swing Open" and you could have guessed that it would eventually carry an entire album. Didn't think it would take 25 years, however. It's been a long time. It's very nice to hear these songs sung by a great talent.

I was truly amazed, and delighted to throw on some new j.d.souther tunes for the head&soul to absorb his remarkable songwriting ability. To me, j.d's. voice is somewhere in-between, Glen Frey/ Jackson Browne, but he hold's his own on If the world was you cd, his songwriting is outstanding, particularly my fav's are track 3 journey down the nile, and also track 6 rain, but believe me this IS a complete album, no filling required. track 8 The border guard is the most commercial viable hit, I've heard him in year's. Go buy this cd, a little Steely Dan-ish horns to boot, ciao, Brian.

Like a few others here I am a longtime appreciator. I always liked the songs Mr. Souther wrote with others, even when I didn't like everything the others wrote. Twenty-five or more years later I still love "You're Only Lonely". So this new thing is 25 years after. It's recorded live with jazz players. It references Blue Note and it shows growth and breadth. The 70s ended a long time ago. Those records (remember records?) were packed with some of the best studio players around and it WAS just slick. But this is a different time, and a lot of people have graduated from back then and wound up here. Here is a very different place. The world is a vastly different place and so is the music industry. But JD Souther is a talented guy and he's managed to make a very listenable piece of work with a different feel. It's not that oh-so-great-classic-rock-album but it is extraordinarily accessible. There's some of what we knew back then, but a lot of what is good is how things change. Smaller, easier, but it shows craftsmanship. There's a lot of good new music out there. Some of it by new people, some of it by old friends. Some of it is hugely produced and some of it isn't. This is clearly of the latter on both counts. But it's good, real good, and it is wonderful to find something from an old favorite that is seriously worth a listen. So yeah, get yourself one. Get one for someone younger who wouldn't know melody if it hit them over the head. Oh hey, one more thing. If you don't have 13 minutes in your life to listen to one thing then you are doing something wrong.

This calls for a celebration: JD Souther is back
AND gee what a comeback !
I was relatively disappointed with the new Eagles album and
the new Jackson Browne album and so I didn't know what to
expect really.
BUT what a delightful surprise: - 5 - stars man!
He's looking good, he sounds great and he's still got it!!

When an artist waits 20 some odd years to release a new album, it had better be DAMN good! That's how I felt when I heard that Souther was releasing "If the World Was You". I bought the disc from his website and didn't know what to expect. Not only had JD not released anything in the past 25 years, but this album was said to have a bit of a Jazzy feel to it. After the first listen, I was hooked. The new sound is absolutely amazing and the songs are masterpieces! It takes a set of brass ones to do something like this. The guy waits 25 years to release an album AND it's got a whole different feel than his previous releases! The songs are still those classic, magnificent works that only JD could create. I was so impressed that I went to see him live in NYC at his sold out show. FANTASTIC! Plus, he played the hits like "New Kid in Town" and "Faithless Love". I also got the album ON VINYL- DOUBLE DISC WITH BONUS TRACK AND 180 GRAM VINYL!!! This is the way JD's music was meant to be listened to. Welcome back, JD!

This is a new work from one of the great singer/ songwriters of his generation. This is a finely textured work that defies categorization. It is a mixture of jazz, blues, country rock, rhythm and blues. Each song is unique and powerful. I hear a little Lyle Lovett, a little Tom Waits, a little John Cltraine and a lot of JD Souther. "Here at Closing Time" sets the early tone and is already a favorite. I remember seeing JD at the Cellar Door in Georgetown in the late '70's in one of my most memorable concerts. He was favorite then and he is favorite now. This album is a real treat!!

J.D. Souther has long been recognised as one of America's very best singer-songwriters, but 24 years have elapsed since his last solo album. The release of this new album, foreshadowed by last year's four-track mini-CD, is thus a major event that to which I'd been looking forward with keen anticipation - can J.D. still deliver?

The answer is an emphatic YES - this is a truly marvellous album. In fact, it's quite possibly his best ever. J.D.'s songwriting is as inspired as ever, and his vocals are just as excellent as always. There are some real gems on this album, which is more jazz-textured than previous offerings, and benefits from a terrific horn section.

I'm not going to pick out particular tracks because they're all gems. A superb album, and I can't recommend it too strongly!

Very simply. This is the best CD I've heard in 2008. As a longtime J.D. Souther fan, I am still amazed that he can sound this fresh, current, and cutting edge. WOW! His play-mates from the 70's may have released CD's lately, and really, did anyone care? I didn't,

However, this CD sounds like a great, brand new, artist strutting his stuff for the very first time. Brilliant... By the way, I get to see J.D. live in Santa Fe next Monday, 12/8, EAT YOUR HEARTS OUT...