Jamie-Sue Seal is one
of my favorite artists, perhaps, because she is living the paradox,
popular yet obscure. Jamie-Sue has the guts and drive to take it to the road
and fight for airplay, without ever selling out. With that kind of
integrity it's a wonder she has a national following. But it's even more
curious that she remains fairly anonymous in most parts of Michigan.
She hails from Dewitt just outside of Lansing. Not a major cultural center
... but close to happening and, hell anyway, I live in Saginaw so I have
no braggin' rights. I just need a little peace, love and
understanding. And it ain't easy to come by in these parts
No sirrree
But when I feel low, I can always turn to music. Sometimes I need
to get a little pumped up so I put on a littlebita Steve Earle....
The Revolution Starts Now. I tell ya I just love the way he talks. If
I wanna soothe my weary soul, I might go back to '67, and put on the
Zombies' Odyssey & Oracle for This Will Be Our Year or
Brief Candles or grab my almost pristine (except for a few pretty
righteous scratches and beer stains) vinyl copy of the Beau Brummels'
Bradley's Barn for Cherokee Girl or Bless You California
but if I really wanna get turned on I slap Jamie-Sue Seal's
Fly Away into the deck. It's a wondrous song cycle of spiritual
awakening and sexual revelation. From the soulful Homeward Bound
(when Jamie sings about wrapping herself around her lover I just LOSE MY
COOL...grrrr)and the jazzy Zephyr Wind to the joyous Mustang
Summer and the closing masterpiece Fly Away, Jamie-Sue sho' nuf
got me turned on and tuned-in and beggin' for more.
And NOW, here it is... Free the new CD by Jamie Sue Seal and the Radiotown Flyers
Free was originally released in the summer of 2004 but I only just recently got my mitts on a copy of it. Man was I nervous. 'Cos I'm a huge fan and leader in the cult worship of Fly Away...
We call ourselves, The Apostles of the SEAL...
"Ah yes, my children,
assume the lotus position, bring your your arms forward and bend them at
the elbow, palms up, touch your index finger with your thumb, and say...
"OM",
again..."OM",
once more..."OM".
Now repeat after me...
"in the beginning we prayed to the Icebreaker during the
Winterlude. And as prohesied by all the major rock journals,
Fly Away came down from the heavens and Jamie-Sue filled our hearts
with gladness and we rejoiced as she set us Free"
hmmm...left out the part about dancin' naked.
Free opens with A 1-2 punch of the blues-rockin' Drive Me Wild
and the folky You're My Ecstasy. Both tunes pay homage to the
excitement of fallin' in love and the sensual delights of discovering each
other. As Jamie-Sue sings in "Ecstasy"
"makin' love in the desert sun,
wear me out till the day is done"
...ooh-wee, sweet Lord Almighty,
have MERCY
Jamie-Sue and multi-instrumentalist Andy Chorkey
wrote or co-wrote most of the songs on this CD. Ben Godoshian also placed
a couple of cool tunes including Free a gospel-tinged title track
sung by Chorkey.
Chorkey sounds a bit like Ron Elliot on his
post-Beau Brummel's classic Candlestick Maker, singin' low and
soulful on the country shuffle Way it Goes. Chorkey is a versatile
singer with incredible depth. He can sing quietly with poignancy and
nuance as in his ode to longing and heartbreak, Come Back Home.
His clever and almost elusive references in Oceans reveals a
spiritual struggle with very human impulses.
Ben Godoshian created a compelling and good natured biblical landscape, with just a touch Edgar Allan Poe, on Evermore sung in tone and texture like an early Carter Family recording with Sara and Maybelle harmonizing and A.P. bassing-in. And his Long Way Home elaborates on Evermore's themes and contextualizes our soul's journey through joy and pain. His acceptance of our existential loneliness proves to be liberating.
Jamie-Sue Seal
is more than generous in sharing writing and singing credits on
Free. But her generosity is well-founded. These cats are good,
real good. Still, it's Jamie-Sue's point of view, that inner voice that
elevates this set to hillbilly endorsed-hippie approved high art. There is
simply nobody out there doing it like Jamie-Sue Seal. Her music is at once
spiritual and irreverent, divine yet sensual. House On the Hill is
about the quest for that which doesn't satisfy. It's never the house on the
hill, a sexual relationship, or an unenlightened materialism that is
sustaining or fulfilling.
Because water isn't just H2O.
This Chain is a lovely ballad that continues the theme of
spiritual longing as it's manifested when our heart reaches out for love
and beauty. The knockout minor key piano riff accentuates the poignancy of
the lyrics...
"Take this chain from around my heart
Take this
thing tearing me apart
My sails are weary
My vision is poor
Lead
me into your harbor
Let me rest on your shore"
"Take me places
where I've never been
Clear my mind and let me breathe again
my load
is heavy
The road is long
Walk beside me
I don't wanna walk alone"
"Choices keep haunting me
Causing me to repent
Voices keep
on calling me
From other lives not yet spent"
"Shine a light
from across he bay
Keep it shining till I find my way
I'm needing
you
To keep me warm
Lead me over your threshhold
Let me rest in
your arms"
Another Seal classic!
Hole in My Heart
is Seals at her most irreverent, wicked best. It starts out with a fairly
typical country-folk theme about a relationship destroyed by lies and
betrayal. But she twists it around, the roles reverse and she trancends
the pain. And by the last verse Jamie is in total control...
"I got a
hole in my yard
I got a hole in my yard
I dug it six foot deep so
you can rest in peace
And it's fit for a fool made it special for
you
I got a hole in my yard
Yeah...I got a hole in my yard...OWWW"
Up the Stream, Chorkey's blistering finger-pickin' good
instrumental workout, creates an earthy tone that sets the stage for
Seal's old-time feelin' spiritual Up to the Mountain. It has all the
markings of an instant gospel classic. And it had me singin' along just
like when I cheese it up to NRBQ's dynamic version "Joy, Joy, Joy
(Down in My Heart)". It has an unusual thumping refrain-verse-refrain-coda
format that builds tension and gives the theme increasing urgency
As
Jamie-Sue sings it pure and heats it up, her inner-fire builds with each
refrain
"I'm going up to the mountain
I'm going up to the mountain
Jesus gonna take me home"
"I'm gonna sing hallelujah
I'm gonna
sing hallelujah
Jesus gonna set me free
"And I'm gonna dance all
my days
Dance all my days
Dance all my days
He took my sins away"
And then a rolling 12-bar blues enfolds the verses...
"I went down
to the river, Oh, what did I see?
I had to cleanse my soul, hmm, and
let Jesus set me free
I had to give up my burden, yeah, to the One who
died for me
And I'm gonna live with him forever in his blessed company"
"I'm gonna tell everybody
I'm gonna tell everybody
I'm
gonna tell eveybody
Jesus did it all for me"
"I'm going up to
the mountain, Jesus gonna take me home"
Music is the food of love and love is all over this recording. Jamie-Sue has reached another level, an understanding of the complex web of relationships both spiritual and romantic that lets us know, in a deep sense, that we are not alone. And that we can love many different people in many different ways.
And after spending the
afternoon listening to Jamie-Sue Seal and Free...
I'm all filled up
Bo White
11/27/04