Dennis Jones - Falling Up (2003) Lossless

For a debut release, Dennis Jones sounds as though he's been getting it done for years. A fortyish guitarist/vocalist and a veteran of Southern California clubs, he has this blues thing down pat. From a line up of mostly self penned tunes, he fashions an eminently listenable platter steeped in popular urban, country, jazz and rock sounds. He's the rare newcomer to recording who displays mastery over his musical _expression without resorting to bombart, flash, fury or histrionics. Jones possesses a confident, smoky midrange voice and shows a deft touch on both acoustic and electric guitar. The title tune spreads a soft, buttery acoustic guitar around a swaying, syncopated rhythm. There's just a taste of acoustic bottleneck or slide on "Yesterday Blues" and "Chevrolet" (the old Ed and Lonnie Young tune) wouldn't suffer by comparison with the version Taj Mahal released in the '70s. "Big Black Cat" and "I Have You" have an urban electric quality not unlike that of Joe Louis Walker. The former is framed by a tidy harmonica accompaniment, the latter harks of George Benson chord changes and sensibilities. "You Don't Know a Thing About Love" is a soft rocker graced by a soulful vocal backing chorus, with Jones furnishing acoustic and electric guitar tracks. "The N Word" isn't what one might suppose; rather it's a country-tinged lament about a girl who evidently can say "No". "Fresh Out of Love" is something of a smooth operator's equivalent of a full disclosure policy statement. The man also has a bit of a muse in him. "Deep Blues", for instance, has a nice acoustic picking and strumming passage at each stanza's outset and a pensive lyric: "Don't know how I got here/Down which road I came/Been in a deep blues so long/Each direction looks the same". "Pray Your Life Away" advocates hedonism. Jones: "Don't you pray your life away/Live each day like it's gonna be your last". Jones surrounds himself with veteran musicians who work the same Los Angeles territory. "Falling Up" makes a compelling argument that his recording career has already hit it's mid-race stride. ~M.E. Travaglini - Blues Revue Magazine