CD Review of...
J
Jesse Free
Magic Letterbox
I think you’re still living your life for me
I hope you’re still living your life for me
Cause I’m the only one loving me I feel right now
He may sing of the loneliness and isolation that comes with broken relationships in this song, but newcomer Jesse Free is certainly going to attract a lot of attention with his CD, Magic Letterbox. The ten songs on this album, all written by Free, run the gamut of emotions from angry to contemplative to satisfied to goofy, and the listener will readily identify with the emotional truth of these compositions.
Shawnee (originally spelled Seany when Free recorded the song for his earlier EP, Self Exposure) is a heartfelt song about a friend who died too young. Although the concept is simple, anyone who has ever suffered such a loss will empathize with the raw emotion this song conveys.
For a total change of pace, Mashed Potatoes is a goofy, happy song about loving and needing someone “like mashed potatoes need butter.”
Inspiration, the final cut on the CD, leaves the listener with a sense of peace with one’s place in the universe –“And I know that there’s nothing in my way/And I know that there’s nothing stopping me/And I know the sky is the only thing/The only thing.”
Free recorded Magic Letterbox over a period of two years. He performed the majority of the tracks on the album, including lead and backup vocals and played the guitar, bass, keyboard, harmonica, tambourine, and egg shaker.
With its complex melodies, soulful lyrics, creative orchestrations and energetic vocals, Magic Letterbox is the kind of CD that will appeal to those who enjoy the catharsis that comes when music expresses the thoughts and emotions that the listener feels but cannot yet define. This is a CD that is not merely heard, but is experienced.
Jesse Free’s music may be sampled at www.jessefree.com. Magic Letterbox may be purchased at www.awarestore.com or www.cdbaby.com.