James Dunn: “The Long Ride Home” (Independent, 2008)

Simple but effective

Dunn practices what he preaches. If a song title says "Oak Tree" then he makes sure he uses those words within the lyrics on as many occasions as possible. Same for "Cards on the Table", "Crush on You" and the majority of the songs on this, his second album. There’s no mystery with this guy as to what his songs mean. The titles say it all.

Twice being named by CMT as one of Americana’s top unsigned artists, a couple of Dunn’s songs have been featured on that network. Now normally that would make most of us run for the hills to avoid the big hats and sparkly belt buckles, but no need to dig out your Nike road shoes just yet.

Kicking off with "Find My Way" which uses a similar refrain to Mick Jagger’s "Joy" from "Goddess in the Doorway", it sets the standard for the rest of the album. And it’s a very high standard at that.

Dunn’s voice is reminiscent of Bob Seger’s at times (particularly on "Oak Tree") and his tunes are powerful, melodic, catchy and just darn good. Simple enough to be memorable, but complex enough to challenge the lazy part of your brain, Dunn’s music oozes those things that we can’t just put our finger on. Have we heard it before? Why are these songs so familiar? Are they covers? All these things and more that mean you can’t quite place what it is, but hell who cares? They’re just great.

If you like your music with no apparent hidden meanings, shot straight from the hip, that you start to hum as soon as they fire up then this album is for you. If you want clever smart arse music seek out Calexico or some other such band. You won’t find it here. And that’s a bloody good thing.

Date review added:  Saturday, October 18, 2008
Reviewer:  Phil Edwards
Reviewers Rating:
Related web link:  James Dunn website