Indiana

Jon McLaughlin | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 1, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Island
• ASIN: B000OCY5WS
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #67,239 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

While his friends were cramming economics, science, and business, Jon McLaughlin was studying piano, and his major-label debut confirms that the Indiana-bred singer/songwriter finished at the top of his class. Three years after his self-titled debut, which was the result of a competition triumph at his music school, McLaughlin meshes his upbringing with his adult-life influences (Billy Joel, Ben Folds) for an ambitiously crafted and extrovertly performed album of piano-led rock and balladry. Essentially a memoir for the twenty-something artist, Indiana wanders through admissions and opinions about love, conviction, close acquaintances, and familial bonds. McLaughlin's classical ties are rarely missing and most evident in songs like the good-natured "Industry," the yearning-for-home title track, and "Amelia's Missing," where he shamefully asks, "I can't find my wallet, so how in the hell am I supposed to find the one that I love?" The latter is the kind of heart-on-the-sleeve, fingers-on-the-ivory sincerity that has garnered McLaughlin a loyal contingent wherever he plays--one that's likely to breed as these 13 songs hit the street. --Scott Holter

Product Description

Through its emotional ups and downs, its sweeping, hooky and earnest piano-pop, Indiana finds the 24-year-old, Indiana based singer working through romantic tests, and even finds him candidly discussing the status of his young career. "There are songs about relationships, girls, faith, friends, family, and there are even some songs about the music industry," he says. "It's a debut album. Nobody knows how the album's gonna go, I don't know how my career is gonna go, so some songs are about that--me trying to venture out into the big world, and make it work." It's also an album about taking stock of all that's good and bad in your life. McLaughlin dubbed the album Indiana during a point when he was in California and away from his Midwestern hometown for the first time in his life for an extended period of time--at a time when he was better able to recognize what's beautiful and easily taken for granted in small town America. In the song's sly stanzas, the title track pays homage to his home state, via a string-laden piano ballad. But the songs on Indiana deal in emotions as prevalent in Timbuktu as they are in the heartland: "After all, we're only human," McLaughlin sings in the chorus of the ultra-catchy jewel "Human."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars two editions of this album, July 4, 2007

By 

Nadyne Richmond (Mountain View, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Indiana (Audio CD)

As of this writing, the Amazon information for this version of the album is missing, so it's hard to figure out what the difference is between the two releases.

There are two versions of Jon McLaughlin's "Indiana". There's the mainstream edition (buying it from Amazon nets you a nice bonus disc with it), and there's the Christian edition of it. The difference between the two albums is one song. The mainstream edition has the song "Amelia's Missing", which includes the line "how in the hell am I supposed to find the one that I love?". The Christian edition removes this song and replaces it with "Proud Father", a ballad about unconditional love.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Here's Jon. He's from Indiana!, May 15, 2007

By 

Michelle A. Cope "Author and Illustrator" (Columbus, Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Indiana (with Bonus Disc) - Amazon.com Exclusive (Audio CD)

Let's see, I think it's been a couple of weeks now that I've been listening to a song called "Beautiful Disaster". I first heard it when I found a website about the upcoming movie Georgia Rule. I love Jane Fonda and in this film she is complimented by Felicity Huffman and Lindsay Lohan. The film opens in theaters on May 11th, but you won't have to wait that long to find out who sings one of the songs from the movie.

It's Jon McLaughlin. The same Jon McLaughlin who released his debut CD, Indiana, last week. Indiana features "Beautiful Disaster" along with 12 other songs that chronicle Jon's feelings and emotions on a plethora of topics. He has penned lyrics on subjects such as love, girls, faith, family, friends and music.

Before I finished listening to the entire CD, I would have told you that "Beautiful Disaster" was my favorite; now I'm perplexed and can't give you a concrete contestant for the honor of first place. "Industry" is a powerful song that explores the business that Jon has chosen as a career and his hopes and fears on what it might hold.

"Indiana", the album's title track, is special to me because I'm a Midwest girl. I'm a native of Columbus, Ohio - a town with no real discernable geographic attributes - the largest body of water I've seen in Ohio is Lake Erie to the north and the nearest mountain range I've climbed is the one at the putt-putt golf course on the east side of town. Given the assignment, I don't know what kind of song I would write about Ohio. Jon had no such problem when it came to the state of Indiana. He puts the geography of his home state into perspective with these poetic opening lyrics.

I'm glad I've never lived next to the water,

so I could never get used to the beach.

And I'm glad I never grew up on a mountain

to figure out how high the world could reach.

I felt that this piece was an ode, a tribute and a love song.

The third cut on the CD, "Just Give It Time", inspired me. It was one of those moments when you think you've found something that could change your life. Now, come on, you all know that I'm not being over dramatic, we're all looking for a book, a poem, or a song that gives us rhyme and reason - the lyrics in this song did that for me.

Jon McLaughlin is creative. That may sound cliché - so let me explain. Not only does Jon have a crisp melodic sound to his voice, the music and lyrics to the songs were written and composed by him. That's talent - a talent that fascinates and mystifies me. I can play with words, rearrange them on pieces of paper and shuffle them around on computer screens, but with music, it's different. I've always held musical artists in extreme reverence because it's as if they have magical muses that go beyond the meaning of the words and bring to surface the true understanding through sounds arranged in notes and chords. Jon has found that muse.

My hope for Jon McLaughlin is the best of success. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I liked every song on this CD. That doesn't always happen for me and I'm sure it's the same for many of you. This debut is so different. On Indiana, the music and lyrics are like a virtual blog of Jon's life and I felt like I was listening to him sing the words in each entry.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Earnest Effort from Talented Young Artist, May 10, 2007

By 

Nelson Aspen "Author/Journalist" (Los Angeles & NYC, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Indiana (with Bonus Disc) - Amazon.com Exclusive (Audio CD)

Jon is no doubt a talented, earnest young artist with a long career ahead of him, making and performing great music. This album features many tracks which, unfortunately, get repetitive after a while although it definitely has a place in your music library. He strikes me as a bit of a hybrid of Billy Joel (obvious keyboard influence) and Keane...now that would make for a spectacular combination if there was more gravitas underlying. "Wholesome" is refreshing, but I suspect it's a case of his youth, which simply means that he'll be getting even better as time goes on.