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Jim Wilson reminds me a lot of Todd Snider, not that he sounds like him, but that they share a similar sensibility and verve, although Wilson leans more toward a hillbilly perspective. One song that is definitely different, not only from Todd Snider, but also from anything else on Jim Wilson's latest release, is the excellent "Somebody Else's Dream". I might go so far as to say this song is worth the price of the album. A neat little side note is that Jim's son Jon did the clever cover art. - Doug Treadway / Nightflying Mag
Jimw Wilson is a country singer/songwriter based in Memphis, TN, who turns up frequently at the renowned songwriters' watering hole. the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville.
On his second album, released by the independent label Ringo Records of Memphis, he sounds like a fairly typical aspiring country singer whose compositions deserve consideration in Nashville, just as mush as he himself does as a potential star. One often thinks of independent labels as a haven for the exotic and marginal, but Wilson is aiming right down the middle of the highway as far as contemporary country is concerned. A good example of his approach is "My Neighborhood" which is strikingly similar musically to Mongomery Gentry's 2002 country hit "My Town", even if it sounds like a deliberately constructed answer record. The honky tonk duo celebrated the town they observed, but Wilson decries the detoriation and loss of community in the neighborhood he descibes.
Those are big issues to a singer who begins the album with "Southern Town", which depicts a young man's wanderings and failures, but concludes, "Now I got kids of my own and we're on solid ground.We all live in a Southern Town." The album's other songs also concern working-class lives, aspirations and disappointments, and the vagaries of love, and Wilson sets them to familiar countr-rock arrangements with lots of twangy guitar work, courtesy of producer Steve Wenger.
There is little of the quirkiness and particularity one expects of small-label singer/songwriters, but plenty of major-label homogeneity, suggesting that Wilson would make a good pickup for a Nashville company that could put enough promotional muscle behind him to enable him to compete with Alan Jackson, Kenny Chesney, and the rest of the contemporary country elite. - William Ruhlmann/Allmusic.com
"Jim Wilson is one of the best performers to walk through the door on a Sunday night." - Courtney Del Verle
"Discovering an artist like Jim Wilson is what makes this business of music so rewarding. Listening to the grade-A production of Jim's soulful songs on "This Old House" makes me long for how good country radio could be, if they were less concerned with Los Angeles and New York and a little more interested in what living a real life entails." - Mark Wehner, Producer
(5 Stars) - I've always been a classic rock fan. After hearing Jim live in Memphis, I purchased this CD, my first country one, and listen to it everyday. I can relate to alot of the lyrics." -Bill Rowe
(5 Stars) - "I wasn't listening to much country in 2001. Were any of these songs hits? If not, why not? The upbeat Simple Things and Too Soon To Say are better than anything on country radio today. And the acoustic Dim Lights shows Jim's versatility with excellent storytelling. Solid CD. Modern country, much less any style country, doesn't get much better than this." -Jeff Guyon
(5 Stars) - "This CD is a definite keeper. Incredible lyrics and fantastic musicianship on every cut. Tasty blend of country and rock. Can't wait for the next one!" - David Wilcox
- (By customers who bought Simple Things)
Discography
*2005 - This Old House (Ringo Records/Wormy Peach Music)
*2001 - Simple Things
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Bio
Listen to the music of Jim Wilson. Well, you don’t have to. But if you want to be moved, if you want to laugh, want to cry, or want to reflect, then listen. If you want to hear sentiment and melody poetically stitched into a seamless quilt, blocks of life, then listen. If you want these stories delivered by one of the most engaging voices in years, then listen.
Jim Wilson spent his childhood in Northeast Arkansas. He picked up his first guitar at age 10, inspired by his surroundings; by the soulful music of Motown and Stax, by the pure, lonesome hillbilly sounds of artists like Merle Haggard and George Jones, and by the harmony-rich music of Emmylou Harris and bluegrass. In short order, Jim was writing his own songs. In later years, his ears gravitated to artists like Sarah McLauglin and Ani Di Franco, and to writers like Steve Earle, Jackson Browne, Bruce Springsteen, and John Prine. “It really boils down to one thing,” says Wilson. “All of the aforementioned people do something that moves me, moves me to dance, moves me to tears; it hits me where I live in one way or another. And that is exactly what I am attempting to do each and every time I play to an audience…to use my music to make some kind of lasting connection.”
Wilson’s musical journey took him from Arkansas to Austin to Memphis, where he currently resides. Working as a front man, writing songs, and contributing his talents to other musicians, Jim has developed into a consummate artist, immediately engaging and memorable. His appeal has secured a dedicated and loyal fan base.
Jim co-produced his debut CD, "Simple Things," with Jack Holder (Jonny Lang, Travis Tritt, Tracy Chapman). This first introduction to his music gave fans a collection of outstanding songs from the poignant “Jessie,” and “Lost Without Your Love,” to the future classic “Knowing and Learning,” to the honky tonk-inspired “Stop, Drop and Roll.” “Simple Things” features some of Nashville’s finest studio luminaries such as Greg Morrow on drums and percussion (Gretchen Wilson, Montgomery Gentry, Dixie Chicks), the legendary Robbie Turner (Dixie Chicks, The Mavericks, Waylon Jennings), and Eddie Long (Hank Williams Jr., Kenny Chesney) on pedal steel guitar, David Smith on bass (Leo Kottke, Willie Nelson), and Tommy Burroughs (John Prine) on fiddle and mandolin.
Wilson's latest release, "This Old House," has many talented artists living in it, including Andy Childs, Harry Peel, Tom Lonardo, David Smith, Sam Shoup, Lynn Jones, Tommy Burroughs, and Steven Wenger, who co-produced the album alongside Wilson. “Wenger claims he was just an interpreter. Yeah, make that a hillbilly interpreter!” quips Wilson, poking fun at his own roots. But those hillbilly Delta roots gave rise to a stunning collection of songs. Songs such as “Southern Town,” and “This Old House,” portray vignettes of small town life, while the emotive “I Could Use A Little Help” engages the listener in the story of a man in his moment of reckoning. “Old Hands” is one of the album’s more touching moments, painting the portrait of a much-loved grandfather and his revered wisdom. In one of the album’s many charming moments, Jim sings, “it’s like I’m waking up in “Somebody Else’s Dream.” This is a CD that is destined to launch Wilson out of regional obscurity, receiving two Grammy nominations, including Best Male Country Vocal Performance & Best Country Song.
One of the best kept secrets in the Memphis music scene, Jim Wilson is a treasure worth discovering.
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