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Nickel and Wood / String Theory

Nickel and Wood / String Theory

Saturday, 27 November 2010 15:57 |

Author: The Grouch |

A couple of weeks ago Doug Jenson's PR guy contacted me and asked me to give a listen to two albums by Doug. The first is called Nickel and Wood and the second is String Theory. These are technically two separate albums, but they might as well be a double album. The music on both is similar and they play well back to back. This is the blues. He cranks it up and adds a touch of what I call "White Trash Soul" (I mean that in the best way possible - see the excellent book A Renegade History of the United States by Thaddeus Russell) I can hear the Allman Brothers, Alvin Lee and maybe even some Bob Seger circa Live Bullet. I like Jenson's stuff a lot more than Seger's.

There is not one song on either of these two albums that doesn't just make me smile and feel good.

The most noteworthy tracks on Nickel and Wood have to be:

Track 1 - Nickel and Wood - I love this song. I'm a sucker for slide guitar and Jenson has a great voice for this kind of music. A 2:14 seconds in he unleashes his lightening and all I can do is smile!

Track 6 - Song Died Today - The intro is beautiful and shows just how well Doug can play then BOOM in comes a screaming lead while the band goes into a standard blues progression. I can listen to this track over and over. His voice is good and, that guitar, that absolutely killer guitar. All I can do is sit back and groove.

Track 9 - Fellman - This is one funky jam. I like to listen to this one as I walk to school or work. It feels like my own personal theme song as it plays through my headphones.

The album String Theory is a continuation of the same funky blues based jams.

Track 1 - Not Yet Done - This song rocks. The guitar is, of course, killer, but he also has a harp man who simply wails. There is a guy singing deep bass on the chorus that fits really well with the song. I'd love to see this song preformed live.

Track 2 - Keep The Roads Rollin' - This song has a hypnotic groove that sucks you in. "Gonna fix what's broken and make it into something LOUD" With lyrics like that you get the idea of what this band is all about. Go to their website and listen to the sample of this track.

Track 5 - 3 Days In - The music rocks and his voice sounds ominous.

Track 9 - Proud On You - I like the music, but I also like the lyrics. This seems to be a pick up line posing as a song. Hey man, if it works, rock on. (OK it helps that the music rocks and his voice is good) I've never heard the phrase "I've got to lay a little proud on you" before. That's a new way to pay a complement for me.

Check out the website at: http://www.dougjenson.com/

What is the bottom line?

Either one of these albums are worth the money. Doug Jenson gets a 4 and 1/2 scowls for each album. The only thing that keeps him from getting a perfect 5 is that at times the lyrics seem disjointed or perhaps are speaking to an inside audience. In any case, at times the lyrics get in the way of the music. Having said that, both of these albums are killer.

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Last Updated (Saturday, 27 November 2010 16:11)