FEBRUARY 2008 ONLINE EDITORIALS
Kevin Jones - Reflection
By Nate Harper
"Collection,” the new 18 track offering from Fort Collins singer-songwriter Kevin Jones, is a collection of new and old songs, spanning a full 15 years of the artist’s career. The CD is half greatest hits, and half new material, and one can hear the difference those years have wrought on the performers heart.
The first 10 tracks speak of confrontational love, moments when walking out may or may not make things better, mixed with a few bouts of humor and attempts to find perspective in our ever changing world. The guitar playing is always confident and consistent, and on the live cut, Pavlov’s Dog’s Blues, the listener can hear Jones’ obvious enjoyment in playing and performing in front of an audience.
On the CDs opening half, Jones’ offers a few interpretations of his singing voice, walking the line between variety and trying to find his best means of conveying emotion, at times a bit unsure of his baritone, but never failing to get out what he feels. Jones shows his knack for the memorable hook to go with his weathered prose, none more obvious than on the first half’s highlight, Clouded Moon, which is thick with a sort of dour lament, but still swells nicely and is ripe with real emotion.
The second half showcases newer material, and if the songs are to be taken literally, reflects the effects of a sometimes hard-living Jones’ last decade or so. Love and heartbreak are again familiar motifs, but this time the promise of a brighter future without his one-time lovers is gone, and instead the songs lament the losses and the what-ifs and possible missed opportunities.
A maturity in Jones’ voice is present in the final half, as he splits the difference between the sometimes eccentric, sometimes Cash-esque delivery of his earlier years and offers his bittersweet lyrics in a more confident middle-register. Again he voices a want for some semblance of reason in life, whether that means searching for peace in a war-torn world, or just finding an exit in the nearest big-box retail establishment.
It’s impossible to doubt Jones’ heart on this record, released on local imprint Kiva Records, and his yeoman work ethic is admirable, but one sometimes wishes Jones could marry more piercing hooks to otherwise memorable verses, producing work that could still be intimate but perhaps leave a greater mark on the listener’s memory. As it is, “Collection” does well by the artist, showcasing the best he’s done as well as what he now has to offer.