JOEL PLASKETT-“Three”
Posted on October 15th, 2009 by ekko
Joel Plaskett‘s got balls. I get dozens of submissions a week, and this motherlover sends me a three-CD album? I’m already annoyed at the guy, since I honor my promise to artists that I will listen to everything that is sent to me.
But I’m one-and-a-half discs in before I realize how long I’ve been listening. And my kid is singing along, even though he’s never heard it before (and tends to be finicky).
Plaskett is (another) Canadian singer songwriter, who sounds in many ways like Jackson Browne—straight ahead, easy rock—but he throws curveballs sometimes. “Rewind” ends, literally and abruptly, with rewound audio, goes straight into “Precious, Precious, Precious,” which ends, fittingly, with the line, “I just wanna rewind.” The three-CD set is a composition. Yes, it’s pop songs, but there’s thematic content throughout. Lots of songs with titles (and choruses) consisting of one word, repeated three times. But it’s not gimmicky—he’s capable of jumping through styles, from indie pop to light rock to light country-pop, and several shades of grey between, showing a breadth of pop skill.
Comment By: Mike Campbell
October 16th, 2009 at 2:32 am
You do know that Joel was in Brooklyn last night at Union Hall? He’s there next month too. I work with Joel and he’s well worth supporting even if it is my say-so.
Willie Nile played my club in Halifax this summer and – I don’t know if you know Willie’s stuff, but he’s pretty much a God. I played him a bunch of material from Joel’s many albums and he was mightily impressed.
The Brooklyn shows are solo acoustic but if Joel’s band stuff (with The Emergency) rocks, big-time.
Thanks for the coverage.
Campbell
Comment By: jesselun
October 16th, 2009 at 9:36 am
Pretty sure Joel rules