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| ARTIST: |
Jude Johnstone
(Google this artist) |
| ALBUM: |
Coming of Age |
| LABEL: |
Bojak Records |
| RELEASED: |
2001 |
Jude Johnstone grew up surrounded by music...church music, Creedence, Glenn Miller, you name it...and before long she was writing songs, playing in clubs and leaving coastal Maine for the real world....Los Angeles. Her debut album, Coming of Age, rings with a sincerity and honesty that makes the listener wonder if she ever got off the ground at Portland International Airport. The Los Angeles influence comes only in the form of the star-studded group of friends she's worked with including Jackson Browne, Valerie Carter, Bonnie Raitt and Trisha Yearwood, all of whom appear on the album.
"Wounded Heart" and "The Nightingale" are both beautiful and heartfelt piano ballads, a chorus in the latter that writhes with poignancy and remains gentle. Jude's disparate influences can be heard in the gospel feel and vocals of "Unchained" and the traditional Irish sound of "Hearts In Armor." "Doesn't Anybody Know But Me" and Let's Leave It Open" are more up-tempo with hooks that don't let go. Both bear a sonic resemblance to Deana Carter, but as a whole, Coming of Age falls into more natural alliance with artists like Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt (the early stuff), Marti Jones and Jackson Browne. Jude Johnstone is a promising (and proven) artist whose solo debut is among the best in this young year.
review by Bruce Hartley
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©
Figgle 2001-2007