Customer Reviews

Mineral

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

 

 

When I first listened to this album, I liked the sound but the songs didn't take. The album seemed kind of self-indulgent and sad, sort of this artist's "Blood on the Tracks" but without the incredible Dylan lyrics and general songwriting. The lyrics are very simple, and repeated often. Repetition, like water drops, is kind of a theme. Maybe that's the clue to the name of the album: an apparent simplicity.
The more I listen to it, the variation and complexity starts to unfold. And the songs are pretty searing, even if they don't carry Dylan's kind of poetry: Very emotionally honest stuff. At times, this isn't an easy album to listen to, in the way that Lucinda Williams' recent albums are tough. But, I now think it has some of Jesse's very best songs on it. Wolleson and Goldings sound great...the musicians are listening closely to each other. The whole album's aural quality and production are really sublime. So, recommended...don't give up on it.

This album carries the same sound as all of Jesse's works, a sound I've come to know and love. But this is a simpler version of his work. Instrumental songs are brimming with feeling and vocal songs are simpler, with many phrases being repeated. Beautiful as always, but a new side of this artist with a more sophisticated air. I love it and only hope Jesse Harris will continue to give his gift to the world.

Jesse takes a more ambient approach here with a stripped down trio. with Larry Goldings on Hammond organ, piano, and Wurlitzer and Kenny Wollesen on drums and percussion. Jesse's songs are framed in subtle washes of sound and moody rhythms. I love it!