[rating=8.00]
The opening track on Jackie Greene’s Back to Birth, “Silver Lining,” has a self-assured positivism that sets the tone for the whole record, not a total surprise as it was produced by Los Lobos’ Steve Berlin who also oversaw previous work of Greene’s including American Myth and Giving Up the Ghost. The comfort level between the two is obviously mutual and equally inspiring as well, to the extent songs such as this opener and “Now I Can See for Miles,” impart a palpable sense of place and time to the music.
Jackie Greene’s songs are nothing if not heartfelt, if not wholly original in thought or style. But tracks here like “A Face Among the Crowd” marry a pop sensibility with authentically rootsy arrangements, here in the form of mandolin and steel guitar, that deepen the meaning of the material as much as they elevate the performances. Greene’s boyish voice lends itself to seemingly effortless, smooth harmonies that do more than just prettify the songs: the singing also reinforces their emotional quotient. “Motorhome,” for instance, features harmonica over a lazy, loping rhythm that’s as deceptively intricate as the (partially) tongue-in-cheek lyrics, the underlying meaning of which wouldn’t come through so clearly if not for Greene’s straightforward vocal delivery.
The young Californian’s originals don’t betray their major influences to a fault either, so that the gospel feel of “Trust Somebody” becomes a virtue, particularly as his own piano playing is the foundation of the recording (thought it’s also distinguished by the violin playing of multi-instrumentalist Jason Crosby). Likewise, “Where the Downhearted Go,” is a combination blues and torch song, the likes of which only an artist as self-confident as Jackie Greene could render with this much credibility.
The glow of “Hallelujah,” radiating as much from the bass of Damian Erskine and the drums of Reinhardt Melz as Jackie’s voice and piano, illustrates the clarity of sound preserved on Back to Birth. Yet nothing here sounds antiseptic because the feel of musicians playing together is ever-present: the contrast between the understated and upbeat turns this track into a testament to the varied virtues of this record. Berlin plays a pivotal role by maximizing the economy of material such as “Light Up Your Window” (with small touches such as the prominence of chiming electric rhythm guitar played off swells of organ), while the relative brevity of each and every track is also a tribute to the focus of the players, besides the aforementioned (and Greene himself), including Paul Rigby on a variety of stringed instruments.
“You Can’t Have Bad Luck All the Time” is just one cut here so winning on first listening, it begs to be played again (and again), almost immediately upon its finish. There are no pretensions to profundity anywhere on Back to Birth, but moments like the transition from this track to the closing title tune carry meaning(s) that, like so many of the attributes of the record, don’t become wholly evident right away. And that’s usually the litmus test of a truly great piece of work.
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