Jason Plumb and the Willing - Beauty In This World

Jason Plumb and the Willing's Beauty In This World has become my Sunday morning CD for the past several weeks. It was actually released in November of last year, but admittedly it took a long time for me to get around to listening to it. Jason Plumb was the lead singer for The Waltons, who were a Canadian alt-country band in the 90's. I've always enjoyed their music, and it was particularly Plumb's original sounding vocals that always moved me into listening to more. For no particularly discernible reason, I have never really paid a lot of attention to his post Waltons output. A few years ago, I did see him perform with The Willing at a free show on Yonge and Eglington and thought it was excellent. Which beings us to this CD.

I'm not sure when it became alright to embrace the AM radio sounds of the 70's, but there are a number of artists who have expressed their appreciation for such in recent years. Josh Rouse, Wilco and Fountains of Wayne are a few that immediately come to mind. BITW sounds like a long lost Bread classic, with a simple laid back acoustic vibe that, at times feels a little bit kitschy, but always manages to be moving and sincere as well. The title track is the first song on the album and also probably my favorite. The liner notes make reference to the fact that we are raising a nation of fear, as well as the media's insistence on exploiting that fear instead of focusing on the "wonderful aspects of life on this planet." Recently exploited events in the media had me listening to this song all the more so over the past week. Songs like Seems To Me and I Do are reflective in nature, coming from what seems to me to be a place of contentment, values and serenity. When Nothing Was Wrong is a heart-tugger, with Plumb's voice pulling a little bit of a Daryl Hall impersonation. Another nice surprise on the album is the choice of covers, something that he has never really been known to do before. He chooses Jigsaw's Skyhigh and transforms it from a disco flavored AM dance hit to a soulful slow jam. He also ends the album with a cover of Bill Withers' Hope She'll Be Happier that sticks pretty close to the original. I love this CD, especially when I'm in the mood to chill out, be a little lazy, and reflect on all that's beautiful in this world.

Photo above by G. Powell.
Myspace: Jason Plumb and the Willing