Back To Jerusalem
JP Jones
Vision Company Records
2000
12 tracks
Featured prominently on the back cover of Back To Jerusalem is a comment by Hugh Blumenfeld which likens this release to Leonard Cohen's The Future. While this analogy is not [in my opinion] entirely valid, there are certainly points of similarity between the two. By placing Blumenfeld's comment on the jacket, Jones makes it difficult for the listener not to consider his work in the light of Cohen's.
Certainly Jones' writing is fraught with Christian imagery, some obvious and some subtle, that parallels Cohen's use of the same source material. Jones lyrics, however, don't have the depth that Cohen creates by grafting images from widely varied sources onto the Christian stem of his words. This is not a negative but only a difference. Jones writes powerful lyrics that support and are supported by the images he chooses to use.
Like The Future, this release is built loosely around a theme of our spirituality and humanity in a world grown hard and cold. Here are stories and images both individual and universal that make it worth taking the time at least once to listen to the words. Back To Jerusalem is a much more unified and consistent work of art than was his 1999 release, Ashes."Getting Your Way" is perhaps the strongest song on Back To Jerusalem. The lyric is simple and elegant, the melody uncomplicated yet with that swing that stays in your head long after the music is turned off. A sweet, melancholy song, "Getting Your Way" is enhanced by Jones' raw vocal style. Rather than Cohen, this song leans toward the theatrical feel of Brecht/Weill.
The arrangements on this release often have an undercurrent of ska/reggae that carries the listener along. "Dream House" is the best example of this fusion, a jazzy pop song riding on a strong reggae rhythm. Lyrics are always an important element in Jones work, and the lyrics of "Dream House" are no exception. Like John Donne, Jones manages to meld the spiritual and the mundane, so that a lyric that is at surface about earthbound concerns can also be read as a metaphor for something more spiritual and of broader significance. This song especially demonstrates Jones' skill at incorporating the spiritual without forcing his message on the listener.
For some reason, probably the rhythm of the piece, "Works For Me" flashes me back to Jose Feliciano's folky version of "High Heel Sneakers" from the late Sixties. In general, the arrangement of this song is quirky and interesting. If it has a problem at all, it's that the music is so interesting that it draws attention away from the words.
"In My Own Sweet Time" begins with a strong spoken word introduction reminiscent of Conway Twitty's best work, then rolls into a sweet medium-tempo blend of sung and spoken lyrics over an edgy mix of pop-jazz and ska rhythms.
In the writing and in the execution, all the songs on this release stand up well. Those who enjoy music that has a spiritual edge but never preaches, those who enjoy lyrics that are poetry and that actually say something, those who enjoy well crafted performance, all will enjoy Back To Jerusalem.
Those who would like to know more about JP Jones and his music will find information at www.jpjones.net.
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