Gaines-ful employment

Toward the Sun

Jeffrey Gaines

Artemis Records

Artists…

Toward the Sun

Jeffrey Gaines

Artemis Records

Artists today have a problem. They can only write one good song. Not that this is a bad thing – a good song doesn’t turn sour until it is repeated over and over again for 45 minutes.

Singer/songwriter Jeffrey Gaines fell victim to musical writers’ block on his fifth and latest release, Toward the Sun. It’s hard to tell which song he originally wrote, because they all have the same soothing, acoustic folk-rock feel.

Perhaps it was the unfamiliar musicians that Gaines recorded the album with. He didn’t actually meet them until hitting the recording studio. One to seize the day, Gaines took a hasty risk and didn’t take the time to get to know the musicians before getting down to business.

The same three or four guitar chords are played over and over (ironic that Gaines has a song by that name), with some variation in speed – most songs unfold at a slow pace and the rest kick it up to medium.

On second thought, it’s unfair to place blame on innocents who didn’t pen the music themselves. That would be Gaines’ fault.

Song similarities aside, Gaines’ Lenny Kravitzesque voice is mellow and pleasant to listen to, and the album traverses a variety of emotions. A phone conversation with a melancholy friend was the inspiration for “Life of the Living” in which he sings, “Who’s gonna wipe away all your tears/ It seems you’re always crying/ No one can help you at all my dear/ If you think all of us are lying.”

The weather gets a bit sunnier on “Over and Over,” a song inspired by and dedicated to Gaines’ fans who told him that they play his songs and relive his concerts over and over.

On the opening track to the album, “Falling Apart,” it is easy to picture Gaines singing it in the recording studio. His voice gets a bit scratchy from putting forth so much effort. Not only are his vocal chords working overtime, but he puts his entire body and soul into the microphone.

“Come Out Tonight,” the final track, is reminiscent of Bruce Springsteen. Accompanied only by a quiet acoustic guitar, his voice gets deeper as he implores that special someone to bask in the moonlight glow with him.

Gaines has been around since the early ’90s, and his claim to fame is the remarkable acoustic cover he did a few years ago of Peter Gabriel’s ballad written for his estranged wife, “In Your Eyes.” Acoustic music is definitely Gaines’ forte, he just needs to spice up his tunes with more guitar chords and a varied percussion beat.

As it sits now, the album is a singer/songwriter fan’s dream – if the songs were dispersed amongst other artists’ soul-searching folk ballad catalogs. The problem lies in being forced to hear them one after another, not being sure where one song ends and another begins.