The Mercy Alliance

Joe Rathbone
Joe Rathbone has hit all the requisite points on the mid-tier alt/folk circuit; Mountain Stage, Starbucks compilation discs, etc, but where he’s ended up, with his most recent release Mad July, is tremendously well positioned in that critical radio-friendly zone, with a diverse mix of solidly written pop songs, and arrangements that are just different enough. FREE // 154 Ludlow Street (upstairs @ the Living Room)
- The Low Down

"Learning to Fly/ Dipping a wing in the ocean/ No you're not high...Your heart is finally in motion," Joe Rathbone sings in the opening track to his second album.Over waves of distorted guitar chords,his falsetto vocal melody glides along as gracefully as the gull described in the lyrics. On the instrumental break, cello and guitar lines follow and circle each other like birds in formation, giving a subtle new dimension to the words.
Through out this CD, Rathbone shows a remarkable knack for this kind of synergistic songcraft.
The arrangements are taut yet spacious, occasionally dressed up with masterful cello work by coproducer David Henry and the recording eschews flashy studio gimmicks; it simply lets you inside the songs and leaves you humming the choruses, especially on the title track and cuts like "Looking For Me."
Most importantly it captures key sonic details, such as the crack of the snare, and the crunchy tone of Rathbone's Gibson ES-125, edging the songs toward the rock side of folk rock. (Zakz,www.joerathbone.com) - Acoustic Guitar Magazine:April 2005 by Drew Pearce

When it comes to pop rock copmparatives 3 always get my
attention:Nick Lowe,Elvis Costello , Tom Petty.Atlanta transplant Joe Rathbone occasionally sounds like an amalgam of the three.His music unites top shelf hook a minute pop songwriting and a pleasing soulful voice. The sensitive guy vocal chops include liberal use of falsetto that adds moments of call and response or ear-catching tonal color ala Brian Wilson.

While there is a certian sentimental facade, producer David Henry manages to keep the arrangements firmly locked into rock grooves, and the result is an album on which every song sounds like an adult alternative radio single.
Rathbone's modus operand us is the intimate conversational touch, but beefy grooves and the crunchy ring in his electric guitar keep the music from swerving across trhat deadly sacccharin center stripe.

Songs such as "Learning to Fly" and "You Make the World Go Round" make it no stretch to believe Rathbone is a former wedding singer turned music teacher, while "Take Me With You" rocks hard and shows he can spin an edgy hipster tale when he's not in love song mode.

The incredibly cathcy "Everything's About to Be Beautiful" is a cutting snarl-lipped narrative that would fit seamlessly into Costello's classic
"This Year's Model." "You spent seven years workin'on a brand new style/ Big bad eyes ,big bad beautiful smile/Everything's about to be beautiful." Just more pure pop for now people. - William Michael Smith