Hey folks, I will be doing a rare appearence at the Minstrel Cafe on March 31st.  Gordie and I are also planning a tour to Ontario in the fall hopefully to promote a new CD which we'll be recording in the summer.  We plan to end our tour in Ottawa at the fabled Ontario Council of Folk Festivals.  

We're also playing a gig at Trees Coffeehouse in Vancouver April 30 and are the feature at the Sooke Folk Club May 1.

There's a good chance we'll be recording our new CD at the Blue Rock Artist Ranch in Blue Rock Texas.  Keep checking back in - ya never know where we might end up... 

Lots of goings and comings....keep posted.  Ya never know...

Logging in at just under 41 minutes "Real" kicks things off with “When Darkness Comes” a powerful intro piece complete with solitary acoustic guitar setting and impressive vocal presence from Eamon. Track 2 “Looking for Glory” serves up yet another impressive track with flowing melody and some impressive acoustic pedal steel accents. Track 3 “High Horse” is a bluesy type piece, with impressive harmonica and vocal swagger reminiscent of Joni Mitchell, Anne Murray, and even Mary Travers (Peter, Paul, and Mary). The CD makes a solid first impression, it is gentle, inviting, and flows extremely well song for song. The music, lyrical content and subject matter is packed full of conventional wisdom - listeners should take notes, because these words are pure gold. The musical textures are simplistic, yet rich with things like pedal steel, harp, harmonica, mandolin, and fretless bass. This is an earthy, acoustic folk statement from start to finish. It is pure, soothing, and sung from a deeply honest perspective. What’s impressive is the amount of subject matter displayed on this CD. Some songs will lift your spirits like “Let it Go”, “Until Now”, and “Yellow Moon”. While others offer deep thought provoking perspective like “When Darkness Comes”, and “Until Now” The defining moments for me are the sad but true statements - “I Can’t Wait”, “When Darkness Comes”, and “Friends”, this is where we see the true brilliance of Jane Eamon shine through. The musicianship of all the players involved is solid. Eamon’s vocal style works extremely well, is unobtrusive, refuses to try to hard, and fills the musical space with peaceful tranquility. I also did not fail to notice a few impressive falsettos scattered here and there. Eamon holds her own in this bare bones musical setting quite well, like on tracks “When Darkness Comes”, “Friends”, and ”Missing You”. My favorite pieces on the CD are a toss up between Track 6 “Let it Go” and “Until Now”.  These amazing ballads let it all hang out emotionally served up with passionate vocals, amazing subject matter. The CD ends on a powerful note with Track 10: “Hero” a powerful bonus track “Soldiers Lament” Track 11.

There are risks you take when delivering a bare bones musical production such as “Real.” In this stripped down musical setting it’s a real challenge for even seasoned professionals like Eamon to hold your attention span effectively. Earthy type productions such as this create ample opportunities for those “pin drop moments” for both musicians and singers to really showcase what they’re capable of. When done right - will blow you right out of your chair, or take your breath away. More work is required to fill this empty space either by the performers, or the performances themselves. I can’t help but wonder what some of these songs would sound like with even more instrumentation layered within the music. Instruments such as violin, viola, cello, piano, banjo, washboard, whirly bells, celeste and even a saw would help add more musical variety to the catalog. Also because there are no drums, except for snare drum rolls on Track 11, various percussive elements are desperately needed to fill the rhythmic void. As a result the songs over 4 minutes in length will drag you to the finish line. As impressive as "Real" is, because of the aforementioned issues, the production goes down a bit dry song for song.

It's obvious listening to the music of Jane Eamon – she is one artist worthy of your full undivided attention, praise, and deep admiration. She's an artist that brings many things to the table - her acoustic guitar, her writing, her voice, her wisdom, her honesty, and her music that is 100% real. Overall this release from Jane Eamon is an extremely impressive statement. Its strong suit is her incredible writing, amazing voice, and rich subject matter, and lyrical content. Her conventional wisdom is simply priceless, and should be treated as such. When this CD is over you will be dazzled by her wisdom, touched by the messages, and mesmerized by her amazing vocal presence. My hats off to the entire production team which includes Producer David Essig, as “Real” is clearly an industry standard musical production. The cover of the CD says it all with Japanese Calligraphy “Storyteller.” Jane Eamon is an amazing storyteller who tells each tale with hope, passion, and pure honesty.  ~ Cyrus Rhodes, Muse's Muse