Jack Savoretti: Harder than Easy
Jack Savoretti: Harder than Easy
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Monday, 06, Jul 2009 05:14
De Angelis Publishing, out now.
In a nutshell...
Folksy, melodic, political, poetic, touching.
What's it all about?
Ten tracks of blissfully lyrical folk songs about love, American politics, war, and... well that's about it, really. But then, what more do you need from a folk song?
Who's it by?
Jack Savoretti only started playing guitar at 16, which means that in five years he has zoomed from being a complete amateur to being 'the next Bob Dylan'. As a teenager he wrote only poetry, and was signed to De Angelis through the fortunate coincidence of having his hair cut by the same hairdresser as Anne Barrett (who first signed Natalie Imbruglia, among others), sparking an introduction. After the release (and re-release) of his debut album Between the Minds in 2007, fans and critics alike have waited patiently for Harder than Easy, with the release date being originally scheduled for July 6th but then being pushed back. Even at the ripe young age of 22, Savoretti has been held up in comparison to Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, Nick Drake and many others. So no pressure, then.
As an example...
"Calling out for change/The American way/Find somebody else to blame/Then let's sing a song for better days/Out on every street/Bright lights, big screens/I)s this really what it means... let us pray for the lost America." - Lost America
"It's breaking our hearts, it's taking our souls/War is getting old/So let's break free/From all these chains of misery/That we've laid down upon ourselves in history." - Breaking News
"If I don't choose, I'm choosing isolation/If I don't believe, I don't believe I need an explanation/If I don't show, there goes my reputation/I'm a patriot, from no particular nation." - Patriot
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys?
There's already been much critical acclaim for Savoretti's first album so it would be surprising if Harder than Easy didn't make people sit up and take notice all over again. Whether American audiences will embrace this much left-wing anti-war sentiment is questionable (although many American stars have done very well by bashing their home country), but however unacceptable anti-Americanism might be amongst some circles in the States, Savoretti can rest assured that Yank-bashing will remain popular and fashionable everywhere else in the world for a long time yet.
What the others say
"Not since Simon and Garfunkel has a gifted songwriter captured the fragility of the human condition so eloquently." - Burn Magazine
"Has a primal kind of magic about it." - Daily Telegraph
"High-class, pining, lonesome heart magic." - Daily Mirror
"Harder Than Easy is perfectly listenable, but it is just that and not much more." - ContactMusic.com
So is it any good?
Absolutely. There's actually nothing about it that doesn't work.
The lyrics shimmer with such understated poetry that the political messages come over with tasteful and mature force. Savoretti's voice is warm, yet disconcerting. He doesn't preach. He doesn't whine. He just sings. And very pleasantly, too.
The clear gems of the album are perhaps the most political; Lost America, Breaking News, and Patriot. The latter concludes the album on a lively note, proving that Savoretti's talents are not limited to doom and gloom. And the album's opening track, Map of the World, a fresh and energetic bluesy number, with echoes of Blonde on Blonde-era Bob Dylan, is also pretty upbeat.
Not that when he does the doom and gloom bit there's any problem with it. The sliding strings of Songs from Different Times, and neat finger work on Russian Roulette both leave a slow haunting sadness which burns not so much from Savoretti's soul so much as into yours.
Like all guitar-poet soul-folk music, it's obviously not for everyone. But surely the only people who are able to remain frozen to Jack Savoretti are those immune to the charm of the entire genre. So if you like Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Bright Eyes, Joni Mitchell, Janis Ian, Tom Waits, or Nick Drake, then do buy this album. You definitely won't be disappointed.
10/10
Louise McCudden