Mason Jennings - Blood of Man
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CD Details
Artist: Mason JenningsEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
CD Release Date: 2009-09-15
Music Label: Brushfire Records
Soundtracks:
- City Of Ghosts
- Pittsburgh
- The Field
- Tourist
- Black Wind Blowing
- Ain't No Friend Of Mine
- Sing Out
- Sunlight
- Lonely Road
- Blood Of Man
Music reviews of Blood of Man
Music Review: Mason Jennings goes electric and dark
Rating: 4 Stars
As a singer-songwriter with an acoustic guitar and wordy songs of social and political observation, Mason Jennings could nominally be called a folkie. But much of his inspiration came from mid-80s punk rock and his work with drums and bass (sometimes his own, sometimes additional players) has been infused with rock `n' roll energy. His eponymous debut, with Jennings overdubbing guitar, bass and drums into a loose, homebrewed production, ranged from folk songs with narrow melodies (think Lou Reed, Jonathan Richman and Ben Vaughn) to thrashing acoustic punk rock. Jennings' early songs were terrifically conversational, sung variously to a third party or directly at the listener, and his lyrics were personal and often philosophical.
Hooking up with a bassist and drummer, his music gained some bottom end and tightened up, but retained the unfinished edges of his initial homemade productions. More importantly, his lyrical view turned outward to political and social observation, and his musical styles expanded to include the reggae rhythm of "United States Global Empire," middle-eastern melodies, and jazz sax riffs. Over the next couple of albums he returned to his earlier ragged style of guitar, bass and drums on Use Your Voice, a thicker, more highly produced sound on his major label debut Boneclouds, and again to simpler sounds for In the Ever, his first album for Jack Johnson's Brushfire label.
Throughout all the musical transitions, Jennings calling card has been his lyrics, and even as he plugs in his guitar for this latest release, the focus remains on words. He plays his electric with the same sort of propulsive chord strums as his acoustic, and the simple leads often match the narrow melodies of his vocals. What's changed is the lyrical tone, which is substantially darker than on his earlier releases. Jennings writes of isolation, loss, loneliness and despair, unmet expectations, murderous retribution, war and death. You might wonder if Jennings' dog died on the way to the studio. The album's one moment of unobstructed lightness is the idyllic childhood memories of "Sunlight," which sounds like one of Pink Floyd's Meddle-era pastoral numbers.
There are a few musical adventures, including the opening "City of Ghosts," which fits nicely into the post-punk vein of Television and the Neats. The heavy bass and distorted vocal of "Ain't No Friend of Mind" suggests the blues of numerous two-man-bands descended from the White Stripes, and the closing "Blood of Man" runs the album's gamut from rumbling low-strummed electric to sharply picked acoustic to a rocking climax. Eight albums into a decade-long career, these are fruitful new musical and lyrical directions for Jennings. The undercurrent of his folk style remains, as it has on all his records, but there are storm clouds directly overhead and the rain will both cleanse you and leave your skin raw. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]
Description of Blood of Man
2009 album from singer/songwriter Mason Jennings. Concieved, written and recorded over the span of a few short weeks, Blood Of Man is an introspective look at life as we age and tumble through it. Says Mason: ''I wrote about how hard it is to be 34 and be a parent and sane and married and true and positive and yourself and a man and funny and a decent person and a not decent person and human and in love. I turned the music up so loud so often that my ears rang every night. I wrote about death, of course. I wrote about life. I wrote about pain and addiction. And I let it flow and left it raw. I worked fast and I let my heart lead. What you have is exactly the music I listen to in my van and the way I have given it to my friends on CD-Rs. My hope is that it can help where help is needed. Music saved my life and I am so grateful for it. Thank you for listening. Rock.''Alternative Rock CDs
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