by Tom Baldino
Several weeks ago, we had the pleasure of meeting and hearing the husband-and-wife duo, Jennifer and Christian Harrison, at the Sourland Mountain Festival. While they often play as a duo, they had a full band of eight on that day. During our visit, there they gave me their three CDs to date, and below is my review of their latest offering, “It’s Alright.”
Before I listened to the most recent collection, I cued up their initial release, “Here We Go,” as well as the follow up, “Groovin’ In Time.” On the former they had a mix of originals and covers with some accompaniment, while the next outing followed up with mostly original songs. You can hear the growth in their song writing and playing, having honed their skills and experiences on the circuit. There is nothing like playing live to improve you musicianship, and getting feedback on new material.
This leads me to their most recent work, “It’s Alright,” which is comprised of eight originals, one cover, and one traditional tune. The opening number, “Take Me Home,” leads off with a wall of horns courtesy of frequent collaborator and bandmate, Eric Donough. With Jennifer manning the rhythm section that propels this song, Christian’s impassioned vocals and guitar lend’s it an urgency, giving the listener a real sense of someone wanting to get back to that special place in their life. Next up “Rockaway,” has Jennifer taking over the vocals, and they find a nice groove with Christian’s guitar, and the horns lay down a sweet foundation, augmented by the double tracked background vocals. The title track, “It’s Alright” has Christian back on lead vocals with plenty of support from a great horn chart and Jennifer’s background vocals. It begins as a mid-tempo number, but as the hand claps intensify, it’s picks up speed and finishes more as gospel/revival tune.
As previously mentioned, the traditional tune “In the Pines,” also known as “Where Did You Sleep Last Night,” originated in the Southern Appalachian area, and has been sung throughout the years by artists from Leadbelly to Loretta Lynn. The Harrisons put they’re on spin on it, with a spooky opening, sounding like Christian singing through a megaphone to his Bo Diddley beat on guitar. Hand claps are again employed, giving it that authentic feel, and reminded me of the power of this song. The cover here is “Caledonia,” a Scottish tune penned by Dougie MacLean back in the 70’s. The title is derived from an old Latin name for Scotland. With Jennifer’s plaintive vocals, and Christian’s aching harmonica, this tune carries a similar message as the opening track, but with a much more subdued sound.
In “Cool Blue Thing” Jennifer talks about “changing the beat,” and they certainly do here with her rocking drum beat. Aided by Christian’s harp and guitar attack, this song is a winner. Listed as “E.C.S.,” everyman’s country song is in the country vein, and is the Harrison’s anthem to that genre, but done in their pleasing style. “Too Many Stones” is a stripped-down tune where an acoustic guitar and harp accompany this ballad sung by Christian. The Lyrics, coupled with his voice, could have come out of the Woodie Guthrie Dust Bowl era, with heartfelt playing that match the vocals.
“The Days” is a ballad on which Jennifer and Christian share the vocals, backed by Eric’s horns which wash over the tune to great effect. A song about trust in other humans, it’s refrain “I just hope they are right,” echo’s the feeling of many of us now in the current state of the world. The final tune, a reprise of the title track, turns the singing over to Jennifer with only Christian’s guitar to accompany her impassioned vocals, they gave me a chill on first listen. The passion in her voice reenforces the commitment that these two have to themselves, and to the music. Well done, Harrisons!
You can find all about the Harrisons on www.TheHarrisonsBand.com