Search - Jake Andrews :: Time to Burn

"I have seen the face of blues/rock future...."

jay stephen jackson | 08/25/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have been a blues and rock musician for 35 years and I have two things to say to those people panning this album. 1. You show your ignorance of what good music is (stick with Back Street Boys), and 2. If you ever see Jake Andrews in person, you'll get your hat knocked into the street! No matter how much inside hype you've heard, no matter how stunned you've been by the breathtaking guitar licks on the CD, there's no way to prepare yourself for the unforgettable experience of seeing Jake Andrews live. Comparisons are bound to be made. A young Clapton. The next Stevie Ray. Another Hendrix. They're all flattering, but none of them quite fit. Because Jake Andrews is not another anybody! Jake is Jake. Jake does things with his guitar that no one has ever done before. And few ever will. It isn't just the speed, although the lightning moves up and down the neck and "fingers of fire" are enough to make anyone's jaw drop. (Brace yourself when he puts that flatpick between his lips and starts playing with all of his fingers!) It isn't just the passionate intensity that emerges from every solo, although there are times when Jake seems to get so lost in the music, you think he's tapped himself into some higher blues consciousness. Every single solo seems finely crafted and perfectly "right" for the particular piece of music it's fronting. Yet at the same time you just know that a large percentage of it is pure spontaneous jamming. It isn't just the maturity of the soulful voice that accompanies the music, although you can hear echoes of the ageless simplicity and stark emotion of the greatest bluesmen. And it isn't just the memorable nature of the songs, although the broad variety and dependable excellence of Jake's original music belie his scant nineteen years. No... What It Is, is "all of the above!" And more. What you've got here is a nice, likable, unpretentious kid -- born and raised in the same Austin Texas music environment that can claim all or parts of: Stevie Ray Vaughn, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Jerry Jeff Walker, Jimmy Vaughn, Eric Johnson, Boz Skaggs, Willie Nelson, Lucinda Williams, et al. Jake's daddy, John "Toad" Andrews played guitar and toured with the critically acclaimed Mother Earth in the 60's and 70's. So call it osmosis, call it serendipity, call it destiny, call it a lot of hard work. Jake Andrews was born to the music and the music was born in Jake."

I like the beat, I can dance to it, I give it an 88....

Michael E. Magnuson | La Mesa, CA USA | 09/04/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"We are all entitled to our own opinion, deaf or not....I've been playing blues for 37 years and I ENJOY Jake Andrews. I suppose some people place so much expectation on musicians that they lose the ability to just enjoy the music for what it is. To keep comparing Jake and Jonny Lang and Kenny Wayne Shepard and even Chris Duarte to Stevie Ray is pointless. How fun it would have been to be able to play and sing like Jake when I was nineteen. The songs cook, the guitar playing is excellent, the vocals are strong: I like it. Go Jakey Go....Mike."

He plays with the intensity of a veteran bluesman!

Michael E. Magnuson | 10/17/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I had the opportunity to see Jake live before I bought the C.D. but that's why I did! He plays with the intensity of a veteran bluesman! If you like Stevie Ray Vaughn, Kenny Wayne Sheperd etc. you'll like Jake Andrews...buy this one!!"