Kenny Jacobson, Take Everything I Ever Wanted - 40m 20s

Tracks & Durations

1. Love You More	3:40
2. Nashville	4:23
3. Hallelujah	2:37
4. What I Want, What I Need, And What I Get	3:09
5. Good Conversation	3:16
6. Licking My Wounds	5:24
7. The Others	2:47
8. There's A Light	2:46
9. Least Of All Me	3:23
10. Never To Die	4:42
11. Lullaby	4:06

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Review

When a musician sets out to consciously explore Americana roots music, the results are generally, at the least, inconsistent, if not disastrous. Scholarly posturing and research coupled with technique and skill only get one so far; without sincerity or passion, the musical experiment often ends up sounding dull and lifeless, an exercise more than an expression…

And that is precisely what makes the second release from Orange County, CA-based musician Kenny Jacobson, Take Everything I Ever Wanted, that much more remarkable. Kenny was born and raised in Southern California, and like ever kid who came of age in the eighties from that area, he spent his formative years performing with various garage-punk bands, emulating Social Distortion and Black Flag, not Merle Haggard and Buck Owens; yet somewhere along the way, whether it was in Utah, Peru, Mexico or some place in-between, as Kenny continued to write and perform music, he developed a fascination with Americana, and it was just a matter of time before those influences made their way into his music.

Granted, this is no honky-tonk record from Bakersfield, but those influences work nicely alongside Ryan Adams, Neil Young and Ellis Paul, as Kenny seeks to come to terms with loves he has left, and love that has left him. Yes, Kenny may be grappling with some demons from the past, but they are exorcised beautifully over the course of the CD's eleven tracks. It opens with the poignant "Love You More," where gently strummed guitars and pedal-steel shuffle along to tell a Dylan-esque tale where, once again, the "good guy" loses; "Nashville," "Least of All Me" and "Licking My Wounds" mine similar territory, blending accordions and mandolins with more traditional instrumentation as Kenny's sense of ironic justice keeps you from feeling too sorry for his protagonists.

But Kenny's music is far from depressing, for even when at his most forlorn, there is a hope that radiates from within, as if through the simple act of singing these songs, all will be made well. Besides, despite the music's generally solemn subject matter, the arrangements are quite upbeat, whether it's the raucous true-to-form murder-ballad "Never To Die," or the horn-drenched "Hallelujah," which owes much more to the Stax catalog than Ralph Stanley (not to mention that it features the horn section of Save Ferris!).

Ultimately, though, it is Kenny's love of American roots music--of playing it, of writing it, of living it—that shines though on Take Everything I Ever Wanted. He's done his homework and learned the traditions, but, like the outlaws who have obviously inspired him, Kenny knows that, in the end, without heart, you're truly hopeless.

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