Jacob

By Dan MacIntosh
Jacob is a likeable singer/songwriter with a knack for matching intelligent lyrics with inventive musical ideas. Just A Tourist Here is an apt title for this CD release, since Jacob takes a curious and open perspective on life through his songs.
It also makes perfect sense that Jacob sounds a lot like The Grateful Dead on the opener, “95,” as that band was most certainly also a traveling band. This track, which also features a Bruce Hornsby-ish (himself, a "Dead" musical associate) piano solo, speaks about the road as a vehicle for escape from trouble. Nevertheless, we can never really run away from ourselves. But that doesn't ever stop us from trying, does it?
There are plenty of musical flavors explored herein. “Lonely,” for instance, is colored with pedal steel guitar and has both a country-ish feel and a bit of a Southern rock vibe. On “Judy,” Jacob hearkens back to The Band, as he also adds a Lennon-y Beatle coloring to it. This one also sports a nice harmonica solo. During another one, titled “UN," which is jazzy due to its soulful female vocals and added brass, Jacob reaches for something frankly political. The track includes John F. Kennedy spoken word drop-ins, including his statement: "Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind." And dang, if Kennedy's words don't still ring true today.
As a singer, Jacob phrases a little bit like the winning combination of Jerry Garcia, John Prine and James McMurtry. He’s not a natural singer, however, so much as he is a skilled communicator. And like any good tour guide, he’s mostly about focusing all the attention upon his many travel stops, rather than himself. He may have titled one of his songs after an interstate highway (“95”), but it would be more accurate to infer that Jacob is much more interested in the scenic roads less traveled by. Just A Tourist Here is music perfectly suited for each and every tourist here on Planet Earth.
- indie-music.com