The latest releases reviewed.
EILEN JEWELL Letters from Sinners and Strangers Signature Sounds/Rounder ****
Eilen (rhymes with feelin') Jewell's second album is another contender for title of the year and, more important, even an outside shot at the year's best. From Boise, Idaho, but now based in Boston, Jewell displays an instinctive understanding of, and affection for, American vernacular music both in her playing and writing. She (western) swings like a demon on tracks such as the opening statement Rich Man's World and Heartache Boulevard; heads to the border for the steamy Too Hot to Sleep; makes like early Lucinda Williams for In the End, and cuddles up to the blues for the traditional If You Catch Me Stealing. And there is lots more in the 1950s vein. But while stylistically she moves about, her voice retains its light, moody intelligence, qualities her excellent stripped-down band of guitar, steel guitar, double bass and drums matches with easy assurance. www.eilenjewell.com JOE BREEN
Download tracks: High Shelf Booze, Too Hot To Sleep, Rich Man's World
MARC BROUSSARD SOS: SAVE OUR SO UL Vanguard Records ***
The battle to save soul music from the heathens continues, but Marc Broussard's honest and willing tribute to the greats such as Otis Redding, Al Green and Marvin Gaye never rises above workmanlike because in seeking to recreate some of their magic he fails to create enough of his own. Broussard is an old-fashioned singer, swamped in the rich traditions of Louisiana and blessed with a big, granular voice of pleading emotion, who looks to soul's golden era to find an answer to the coarseness of what often passes for soul these days. There are successes - his brooding late-night version of Al Kooper's I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know, for instance - but too often this sounds like a covers album from a well-trawled era rather than something really distinctive from a singer of undoubted quality. www.marcbroussard.com
JOE BREEN
Download tracks: I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know, You Met Your Match
