Album Review - Restless Hearts - John Jenkins

Album Review - Restless Hearts - John Jenkins

When Suzy asked me if I wanted to review this album, I read the press release, saw the

words fiddle, mandolin, and dobro , and was shamelessly drawn to it like a moth to a flame, a bee to a brightly coloured flower, a buzzard circling a dead buffalo on the prairie, knowing that soon I am going to get a really tasty and fulfilling meal.

And I wasn’t disappointed, it grabbed me from the first track, with it’s simplicity, and then it’s understated accompaniments, of the afore mentioned instruments, and by the time I reached I Didn’t Really Want To Change The World, I was singing along with the chorus even though I’d never heard it before. I love music which sounds familiar, with comforting melodies, and every one of these songs fits those two categories.

I didn’t know much about John Jenkins before I was sent his album, but surprisingly the lad hails from Liverpool, (he could quite easily have been from Omaha or Ohio) and has been around the music business for many a year. Obviously honing his UK Americana style which runs through this album. Whether it’s the stripped back simpleness of Farthings Wood with just an acoustic guitar and a tremelo’d mandolin deep in the background, to the out and out old time country song The Man Who Breaks Your Heart, John draws you in to his narrative, with his gentle soothing voice, reminiscent to me of Lloyd Cole. On Sound Of Thunder which features some wonderful weaving of pedal steel guitar, resonator and piano, John slips in a line about feeding the cat who then ignored him, and you can just picture this, it is so out of the blue and personal, and I think it’s this personal touch which makes him stand out as a great songwriter.

John is currently doing a smallish UK tour to promote this album,accompanied by Pippa

Murdie who plays mandolin cello and backing vocals I would recommend you get to a show if he is near you. I would also recommend you to check this album out Restless Hearts, if you are a fan of country or Americana, or even just looking for some excellent acoustic driven songs presented in a humble way.