No Tag, No Tail Light

Jon Shain | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 6, 2003)
• Original Release Date: June 6, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Flyin'
• ASIN: B00009ZWAG
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #621,206 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Worried Messenger

2. Getaway Car

3. Philly Girl

4. Give My Regards to Brother Ray

5. Get What You Deserve

6. The Deep Freeze

7. Ka-Ching Ka-Ching

8. Only the Blues

9. Merrimack

10. Second Chance Blues

11. Whistle Blower

12. Charade

Editorial Reviews

Jerry Withrow, No Depression magazine ,Nov. 2001

Shain ...has established a group identity rooted in the Piedmont blues of NC...

Product Description

Americana and Blues at its best! No Tag, No Tail Light is Jon's newest release. Produced by Dave Mattacks and Tom Dube, this CD was recorded in Boston, MA in the fall of 2002 and features the Jon Shain Trio with Dave Mattacks sitting in on drums.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quality production, January 7, 2006

By 

David Walker (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: No Tag, No Tail Light (Audio CD)

Funny you should mention the perceived similarity with Steve Forbert, as I just saw him open for SF in Atlanta. I really like this album (which I bought at the show). Every song scores. Some of the adjectives which come to mind when I listen to it are fun, evocative, and finesse (OK, well thats a noun isn't it....maybe finesseful?). The guy really seems to enjoy playing, adding in little hooks and so on at a live show, complete with just-for-fun facial contortions when singing certain lines. Another thing I really like about this CD is the crisp production. The sound quality is great and really highlights his style of playing. All the plucks, picks and thumps come out of the speakers with a high degree of fidelity. This is good walking around the house on the weekend music or intermediate distance road trips. Definitely more than background, but not abrasive either. Just well-written tunes, skillfully executed and produced.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Grandest Charade, January 27, 2004

By 

Lee Armstrong (Winterville, NC United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: No Tag, No Tail Light (Audio CD)

The magazine "Dirty Linen" did a recent feature article on Jon Shain, which made me seek out his most recent CD. Dave Mattacks of Fairport Convention who lends crisp production values to Shain's sunny folk disposition as well as percussion & drums produced this set. Vocally, Shain's hushed, somewhat breathy delivery most often brings to mind Steve Forbert. "Worried Messenger" is a bright tune with FJ Ventre's throbbing bass line, "If I take it to the street, are they gonna take it straight to me?" "Getaway Car" has a bouncy guitar part with Shain's rolling melody, "Out of the daylight, out of control, just like Pancho Villa fresh out on parole." "Philly Girl" is a sweet folk boogie. Shain's slide guitar rattles & rolls on "Get What You Deserve." My favorite track is the boogie woogie "Ka-Ching Ka-Ching" about a money hungry girlfriend where Dave Mattacks goes crazy with cash register percussion, "There's dollar signs in my baby's eyes; she's burnin' through my money with her stories, games & lies." Shain resurrects with an old-timey reverence "Only the Blues," a 1928 track by the Hokum Brothers. "Whistle Blower" is a dark tune with bass & acoustic guitar and a vocal falsetto. The CD concludes with a Forbert-like vocal, "Now the shadows rise & surround you; time is the grandest charade." Shain is a developing artist whose new CD represents a great stride. While his melodies are not startlingly original, he's obviously having a lot of fun & has the ability to let us in on it. Explore & enjoy!