Jameson – Pronto

@planetmosh reviews Pronto by .@Jamesonmusic

Every so often you go to a gig having never heard of the support act and leave feeling like you witnessed the beginning of something pretty huge.  This happened to me on Monday night, when I turned up at Edinburgh’s Liquid Room to see Rival Sons, and saw Jameson walk on stage to total silence.  He travels light, just an acoustic guitar and a single Orange amp, but as soon as he opened his mouth he completely captivated a crowd who absolutely loved him.  The silence changed to roars of approval that went on and on, leaving Jameson looking quite embarrassed as he tried to leave the stage.  His set was taken from his EP, Pronto, which was available at the merch stand and had people queuing up to buy it and meet the man himself, including yours truly.

Pronto features six tracks, recorded in November 2013 at the Studio Apartment in Santa Ana and LA, California.  I’d add storyteller to the singer/songwriter tag, as each song, if not taken directly from Jameson’s life, certainly sound as if they come from experience.  His voice is raw, sometimes husky sometimes almost falsetto but always free and easy, soaring and pure.  I could easily listen to this record on repeat.  In fact, that’s exactly what I am doing!  The recording is every bit as stripped back as the live show, but with a voice like this there’s no reason for it not to be.   Those who’ve read my reviews before will know that I’m not a huge fan of acoustic music.  I’m usually bored with it very quickly but Jameson grabbed me from the first track and wouldn’t let go.  It’s hard to pigeonhole his music, he’s obviously got rock influences, Rival Sons not the least amongst them, but he’s also a little bit country, a little bit folk.  Regardless of where his musical style comes from, this is a voice that I believe could sing the phone book and still be on to a winner.

Standout tracks for me are Bourbon and Let You Be.  Those among us who enjoy an evening in the company of Mr Jack Daniel will relate to the lyric, “these days I’m giving up walking for a crawl, bourbon is drinking my wallet.”  I can’t help but get caught up in the melody and have had to remind myself the windows are open and the neighbours can hear me as I sing along.  Let You Be is one of my contenders for song of the year.  It has to be listened to over and over.  It’s slow, sexy, the voice is just perfect.  Love it.

With only six tracks to choose from, and a running time of just under half an hour my only complaint is that there isn’t more, but if Jameson continues to get feedback like he did in Edinburgh there should be an album coming along pretty soon.  He told me he’s in the process of arranging to play some gigs of his own in the UK, with a possible support slot on Rival Sons December tour currently being worked out as well.  I for one can’t wait.

Track Listing:

Bourbon/Everything is Changed/Let You Be/Liar/Not as Easy/Surprise.

Links:

www.jamesonmakesmusic.com

www.facebook.com/jamesonmakesmusic

@Jamesonmusic