NYC rock singer Carly Jamison has released ther customary Xmas single. Keeping Christmas has no sleigh bells of church bells. An upbeat song that feels like a breath of fresh air amidst the sugarcoated seasonal fluff.
Keeping Christmas is a self-released single. Buy it from her website.
HCTF review of Ungrounded.
Lots of artists release a special song for Christmas. Not so NYC rock singer Carly Jamison who has released four songs this year. It Feels Like Christmas Every Single Day gradually turns into rock anthem. Oh No Santa Claus is a power pop song. I'm Getting A Ukulele For Christmas has an early Fifties mainstream jazz vibe. The Happiest Christmas Tree is a Nat King Cole cover, channeling the Ramones surf punk (she lifted the Hey-Ho bit from their Blitzkrieg Bop classic).
All four singles are self-released. Buy them from her website.
HCTF review of Ungrounded.
NYC singer Carly Jamison is into real rock. Her 2012 album Everything Happens For A Reason was a pleasant surprise, breathing new life into country rock. Her new full-length Ungrounded is more of the same and then some. A bit more don't fuck-me- with-me rock (Superman Fantasy, Runaway Train), but also the jumpy vocal approach of Joan Armatrading in Brand New Day.
Once again she brought her New York attitude to Nashville to lay down the tracks under the supervision of producer Tres Sasser and Dan Baird on six string duties. They assembled a wealth of seasoned players to broaden the sonic palette - sax player Chris West deserving special honors for Small Talk. The album's closer I Said I Loved You But I Lied is great putdown song, with the old school backing adding sense of melancholy to the harsh lyrics like.
If Bonnie Raitt and Tom Petty ever had a daughter she would have sounded like Carly Jamison.
Carly Jamison; vocals, acoustic guitar
Dan Baird: electric and acoustic guitars
Keith Brogdon: drums and percussion
Jon Paul Frappier: trumpet
K.S. Rhodes: viola, harmonica, melodica
Tres Sasser: bass, acoustic guitar, piano, background vocals
Sarah Silva: background vocals
Chris Tench: acoustic guitar
Chris Tuttle: piano, B3, Wurlitzer, Rhodes
Oscar Utterstrom: trombone
Chris West: saxophone
Ungrounded is a released on Desktop Recordings. Buy it from iTunes or Amazon. Full stream on Soundcloud.
Tracks:HCTF review of Everything Happens For A Reason.
Singer-songwriter Carly Jamison brought along her NYC DIY attitude when she laid down the tracks for her debut album Everything Happens For A Reason at True Tone Recording in Nashville, TN.
Country rock is a schizophrenic genre: changes are that things fails to gel or worse. When the pieces fit however, you can get a rollicking honky tonk vibe going. Jamison can show her vocal muscles - with Ask Me If I Give A Shit and This Big Old Bottle as the prime examples. She has a hoarse voice - not as rough as Janis, and a few shades darker than Bonnie Raitt's. She shines during Self-Consumed, a classic boy-leaves-girl country lament. The sole clunker is the gospel tinged The Hills Of Jericho, a middle of the road ditty with cheesy background vocals.
Backed by seasoned veterans, including guitarists Dan Baird, Carly Jamison got herself a vintage sound that never grows old. Hats off to producer Tres Sasser who got the sound right.
Carly Jamonison: vocals, guitar
Dan Baird: guitar
Keith Brogdon: drums
Tres Sasser: bass
David Henry: strings
Everything Happens For A Reason is a released on Desktop Recordings. Buy it from her website.
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