Reviews

Jason Eady’s I Travel On

Posted by on August 31, 2018 at 8:07 am


By Brian Rock

Jason Eady plays non-hyphenated Country music for grown-ups. His seventh album, I Travel On, is a collection of smokin’ Honky-Tonkers and story ballads packed with tales from the road and from life’s long and winding road.

“I Lost My Mind In Carolina” sets things in motion with a guitar, fiddle and dobro combination that sounds like a train chooglin’ down the track. Jason begins his musical journey singing, “I woke up in Charleston with my head in the sand. Seemed like as good a place as any to begin.”

With a seasoned baritone, somewhere between Charlie Robison and David Nail, Eady delivers his songs and stories with a natural Southern flair that’s almost conversational in tone. His earthy vocals pair nicely with the funky, chunky rhythms of his Honky-Tonk numbers. “Now Or Never” has a “Dixie Chicken” groove to it. The dobro-tinged “Calaveras County” recalls the early work of Lyle Lovett. With the comforting lyrics, “Ain’t no strangers here in Calaveras County, least not any that I’ve ever known,” the song reminds us that strangers are just friends we haven’t met.  “That’s All Right” celebrates the many splendors of the American landscape and its people. Upon viewing each new vista, he sings “That’s all right. I think I’ll stay here tonight. Ain’t no reason why a man shouldn’t have to learn to live this way.” “Pretty When I Die” is an explosion of fiddle and banjo that celebrates living life to the fullest.

Eady also conveys emotional depth on his ballads. On “She Had To Run” he tells the story of a woman hitching a ride to escape an abusive relationship. With sparse acoustic guitar accompaniment, he sings, “She had to run, she had to run, get out as fast as she could. She knew the next time he’d do what he always said he would.” The simplicity of the musical arrangement allows the full force of the lyrics to resonate. “Below The Waterline” has a Willie Nelson feel as he sings about flooding in Bristol, TN. “Always A Woman” has a haunting musical undertone as he reassures (or warns) us that, “There’s only one thing between the devil and a good man.”

Eady wraps everything up on the last two tracks, “The Climb” and “I Travel On” which are metaphors for life’s journey. In the former, he sings, “He’s too low to the reach the top. He’s come to far to go back down. He’s not lost, he just don’t know what to do… He’s still climbing. He’s gonna see it through.” In “I Travel On,” he contemplates the cyclical nature of life, singing, “Well I hope that when I finally find you, I’ll have the chance to remind you of who I was before I had a mind to travel on.” Like it or not, life moves us always onward. Our successes and failures, our hellos and goodbyes all shape who we eventually become. And when we meet again in this life or the next, it’s the stories that we tell that will define us. And Jason Eady tells some wonderful stories in “I Travel On.”

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Brian Rock

Brian Rock

Brian was raised gypsy style, moving every other year until well after college. As friendships proved to be temporary, Brian found a constant companion in music, wearing the grooves off Beatles and Dylan albums before moving on to Lyle Lovett and Dwight Yokam. Living so often in flux, he has come to value music and lyrics of lasting quality. Not moved by trends or fashion, he is drawn to timeless lyrics and soulful rhythms. Although now settled down, Brian still expresses his gypsy spirit through his writing. He has co-written songs with musician friends he’s met along the way, including several contributions to the 2012 ICMA Album of the Year, Family Album. Brian also writes children’s books and poems, including the Children’s Book Council featured title, The Deductive Detective.
Brian Rock

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