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LUKE JACKSON - Tall Tales And Rumours

LUKE JACKSON - Tall Tales And Rumours
First Take Records FTCD002

If I have ever heard an artist ‘waiting in the wings’ then Luke Jackson must surely fit the bill. Luke’s singing style is an amalgamation of so many great artists ranging from Sam Smith to George Ezra with overtones of James Blake - great company indeed! Comparing one artist with another is to belie Luke’s own innovative personal style which is equally individual and interesting. As a singer songwriter, Luke has a rare talent to be celebrated and encouraged, in my view, for many years to come. These songs are written and sung from the heart and range across many different genres and styles from blues to folk. Sometimes the songs are simply sung with acoustic guitar and sometimes they have the benefit of backing by Andy Sharps (bass) and Connor Downs (percussion). Sharps and Downs are fine musicians in their own right, enthusiastically (and rightly so) endorsed by Luke himself.

This album enthuses with an innate inner confidence which can only be attributed to ‘an old soul’. The observations in the songs are acute and succinctly put by a true wordsmith. When writing, simplicity is so much harder to achieve than you would think. I particularly liked the fall out of words in Better Man: The sea rose and fell, duelling with the sand, in their eternal battle, for ownership of the land.

The words of this song, to me at least, are reminiscent of stanzas from an Edward Thomas poem. These songs are memorable, exceptionally well crafted, cover a wide range of themes, styles and emotions, but above all, performed with great panache and style. The last track on the album, On The Road, is extremely catchy and upbeat; an earworm that will have you humming along for some time after the last notes fade away. Luke Jackson is a name to remember with all the hallmarks of the ‘next big thing’, If we don’t hear more from this young man over the coming months, I’ll eat my hat ... Pass the salt!

www.lukepauljackson.com

John Oke Bartlett


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This album was reviewed in Issue 118 of The Living Tradition magazine.