Jeffrey Gaines - Alright (2018)

After an extended hiatus Philadelphia-based singer-songwriter Jeffrey Gaines returns with ten new tunes on his album Alright. Gaines has a gift for upbeat, soul-searching songs with introspective lyrics and catchy hooks. This one has a real symmetry to it, almost like a well designed live performance, where the songs build from a gentle start to a rocking, raucous crescendo before closing in melodic, easy fashion.

Although Gaines has performing and recording for two and half decades, this is just his fifth album and it was done in a mere three days. Recorded with producer/multi-instrumentalist Chris Price, whose keyboard work is prominent on the record among the many instruments he plays, the musicians are among the best from Los Angeles. Guitarist Val McCallum (Jackson Browne, Sheryl Crow, Lucinda Williams), bassist Dave Faragher (Elvis Costello, John Hiatt), and drummer Pete Thomas (Elvis Costello, Squeeze), the latter two of which also record in Jackshit. Gaines says, “Chris and I have a lot of shared interests so that definitely helped, and I had really wanted to work with Jackshit guys. Val McCallum had played guitar on my album Towards the Sun and I wanted to work with him again. And I love to record with rhythm sections that already play together which Davey and Pete do, so they’ve already got the non-verbal communication going.”

The style of Elvis Costello’s backing band and the exuberance that Price brings to the sessions with his background harmonies and dizzying musicianship seem more apparent with each listen. Price says it this way, “Everyone showed up on their A-game, so nothing was left to chance. Not to mention the fact that Jeffrey wrote some fantastic tunes that worm your way into your head, and don’t have any intention of leaving.” Gaines kept hearing “Hey, that’s alright” each time band members played back a track. Hence, the album’s name.

” Feel Alright” begins the album, as a slow chord-driven shuffle and begins to gather more intensity on the second track, “Firefly Hollow.” “No Longer” steps it down a notch and then from the fourth track, “Seems to Me” (seemingly Costello-like in structure) through the ninth, “Thick and Thin” each track ratchets up the energy, excepting the slight break in “Bjorn Toulouse” which features a delicate electric piano. Yet, “I Will Be” and “Thick and Thin” are high-spirited rock n’ roll. Appropriately, the closer “Children’s Games” has a textured instrumental background replete with Price’s string arrangement.

As a small side note, the album is on the Omnivore label, one that many associate the unearthing of past treasures. This is one of many examples where the label is also featuring current artists doing new material.

Welcome back Jeffrey Gaines. Your gift for song and ability to lift our spirits will certainly help us get through these dreary winter months.

TRACKLIST

01. Feel Alright
02. Firefly Hollow
03. No Longer
04. Seems To Me
05. Frowned Upon
06. Promise Of Passion
07. Bjorn Toulouse
08. I Will Be
09. Thick And Thin
10. Children's Games



All thanks go to the original releaser