I am reliably told that Jeff Black is one of the finest Nashville songwriters working today. My friend Wayne Marshall (record producer and songwriter) saw Black play in a little club near Music Row, and was held spellbound. On this, his second album, Jeff Black certainly grabs your attention from the very start. The first words out of his mouth echo the first words of a well-beloved Beatles song. Only three little words, but that’s the power of song…it sticks with you. Once past those three words Black has the floor and you forget about echoes. For a while.
B-sides and Confessions Volume One is a potent collection of songs. I’m not sure where the A-sides are. I don’t remember Jeff Black’s greatest hits collection, or hearing his songs on the radio, so I’m assuming the title is just an allusion to what might have been. The songs included here each have influences and little bits of sounds which will spark the memory of listeners who dig Americana and roots music. This one’s kinda like Springsteen (“Same Old River”), that one sounds a bit like Marc Cohn (“Holy Roller”); but not exactly. And that’s the trick! I think it was George Harrison who claimed that stealing from one person was plagiarism, but stealing from lots of people was research! Jeff Black has done his research.
Randy Bachman wrote, in his autobiography, that the secret to writing popular songs was to take a song that was already a hit, change the key, add a minor and write new lyrics. That’s the technique he used for the hits he wrote for the Guess Who and BTO, so who can argue with the approach when Jeff Black creates something new under the sun by reminding us of our past. Black plays a moody piano, and sings in a mellow baritone. Now and then he strums an acoustic guitar or blows a harmonica. It’s a raw and immediate recording, produced by Black but “recorded and mixed on the fly by the legendary Billy Sherrill.” Sherrill is a longtime Nashville producer who has worked with the cream of country’s stars. My recollection is that in the old days he was fond of steel guitars, and that’s why Johnny Cash wouldn’t use him…but in 2003 Sherrill just recorded the basics. Bass by Byron House, drums by Craig Wright and Jeff Black’s playing…apart from a couple of tunes, that’s it. Just the three of them. Making honest, truthful music.
“Gold Heart Locket” features Black’s rudimentary banjo picking, and an evocative story about disappointment The lyrics are strong and crisp throughout telling simple stories. It’s like a demo album. Hey! It’s B-sides and Confessions. The feel of the whole album is perhaps contained in this single verse from “Cakewalk”:
I’m a tired old romantic
for the good old days
when we survived by
feeling closer to the fold
I saw your face
I looked up and
we were getting older.
Aren’t we all.
(Dualtone, 2003)
