Articles Archive for 2 February 2009
Celebrity, Music »
![MUSIC REVIEW: The Best of John West](/wp-content/themes/arthemia/scripts/timthumb.php?src=//wp-content/uploads/2009/02/jonwest1.jpg&w=150&h=150&zc=1&q=100)
If India Arie and Jack Johnson had a love child and let Sam Sparro teach it to sing, its first soulful croon would sound an awful lot like John West. The 29-year-old’s LP features eight tracks of slick “neo-soul” samplings from his unique jazzy repertoire, plus one bonus acoustic track covering his well-known “Gravity.” The Baton Rouge, LA, native is one part jazz, two parts amp, and altogether soulful. His musical career isn’t so much a genre of music as it is an enveloping vibe, an offshoot of his extremely chill persona and his singular devotion to his love for music. The thing to know about West, however, is that his appeal doesn’t just rest on his sultry, course voice or on his simple, honest lyrics. Rather, the reason why West is able to hold his own in an industry so full of creative innovators and the next big fad is that his passion for song transcends genre. On “Hope It All Works Out,” West’s lazy drawl mingles effectively with the heavier bass beats and snaps that drive the song. Just a few tracks before that, however, West ups the optimism in “Loved You Tonight,” his broken voice bobbing gently against the backdrop of velvety keyboard and guitars. He is at once blues and funk, and his lyrics are dripping with smooth double entendre and desire.