An Addictive Classic Rock Single from Jim Eannelli
A single release from Jim Eanelli brings out a pretty awesome blend of, what I would consider to be classic rock and a songwriting style that feels like it's almost from the 50s or early 60s.
He's got a great edgy guitar tone throughout this single, which is something that gives it drive, and it certainly is a rock song, but there's something absolutely vintage about the songwriting approach, especially the chorus, that gives the entire thing a very particular aesthetic.
The drums are sort of drenched in this reverb effect, so it gives the song depth and also adds to that semi-vintage tonality, and complements the more up close and personal guitars and their distortion.
The song breeds a unique style of honesty. He digs pretty deep in terms of being descriptive lyrically, which is amazing because it paints a bit of a picture as the song unfolds, and it's not hard to follow whatsoever.
It's really the way the song is portrayed and performed that grabs you.
The verses are a bit straightforward and have a combination of palm muted, crunchy riffs into open chords, while the drumming serves as the backbone, and the vocals give you a lot of the personality.
The lyrics dip into some of that personality and how he's able to deliver a lot of inner thought and emotion through his music, without many walls built around it.
The character is part of what you get attached to the most throughout this track.
Wild guitars ring out with open chords, and Jim gives off a mix of Roy Orbison and Neil Young.
He's got that classic kind of vibrato, and he's able to really bend notes while he's singing them.
This is cool because it gives those vocals a little animation. The way he sings lets the whole song wrap itself around you and keep you right where it wants to.
As I mentioned earlier, the whole thing is very classic rock oriented, especially during the intro and verses, but when it gets to that chorus, that's when it feels almost due up inspired.
The artist breaks into a harmony that's absolutely old-school, and this goes into a second hooky vocal riff that really just works outstandingly with the soundscape of the song.
It sounds like something The Beach Boys would have written.
I'm pretty sure it's that mix of the harder-edged rock feel with the vintage and old school doo-wop-inspired chorus that makes it stand out for me.
It's an amazing combination, and it really showcases how this is an artist who not only puts pieces of himself into his music with that honesty, but is also inspired by a slew of different kinds of music and can incorporate a lot of that into just one song.
If you took out all the rock guitars and put in piano or acoustic guitars, the song would still sound amazing.
I think it takes someone with a certain kind of vision to be able to turn this into what he did.
That chorus stays bouncing around in your brain for hours or even days after the song has ended, and this is absolutely a song for people who love classic rock-style songs but with loads of pop sensibility attached.
This is also an important aspect to talk about. Jim can keep that pop undertone there almost the entire time. Yes, it's influenced by things like punk rock, classic rock, folk-style lyrics, old-school doo-wop harmonies, but the pop is always there.
The guitar tone is warm but still fuzzy, giving a little bit of that edginess a perfect rounded shape, but even still, when things are a bit grungy like that, the chorus is a sing-along.
This is definitely a track that pulled me right in, and once that hook came along, I was stuck. I knew I wasn't going anywhere, and neither will you when you listen to it.
Again, this is for people who love pop-sensible classic rock music. Great hooks, colorful melodies, rock edginess, and personality dripping from everywhere.
The track is called "Don't Bring Me Down", and it's out right now.
Also, Jim is someone who's had loads of experience not only recording records with some heavy hitters like Violent Femmes, but also worked with tons of other bands spanning from punk rock to blues, and more.
This is an experienced player, and it's no wonder he's able to write songs like this one and have them come out the way he envisioned them.
As a matter of fact, not only is Jim the songwriter, but he's also a multi-instrumentalist and performed all the instruments on the track.
After finding this out, it changed the way I thought about it even further.
It kind of blows my mind how someone can have that kind of vision and bring it to fruition the way Jim does here.
Again, don't miss this one.
