Search - Jeb Loy Nichols :: Easy Now

Jeb Loy Nichols brings an organic warmth to his down-home fusion of retro soul grooves that call to mind Al Green and Bobby Womack and country-folk arrangements (guitars that sound like dulcimers or mandolins). Though some hear a vocal resemblance to James Taylor in Nichols's quavery tenor, he also recalls the Band at their most liltingly melodic and John Hiatt without the angst. This release sets the title's mood with some comparatively slight, wispy fare (the tone and textures of "Letter to an Angel" and "Better Than Beautiful" leave more of an imprint than the songs) before progressing to more substantial material. With the harmony-laden balladry of "Heaven Help Me," the solo "Mostly Bittersweet," and the spare transcendence of "Not the Only Man," Nichols finds a perfect marriage of sound and sense. --Don McLeese