| Cool Me Down - Jenai | |
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Reviewed by Matt Bjorke
When was the last time a Country artist went simply by their first name? While Reba, Shania, Faith and Wynonna go by their first names, we still know their last names. That cannot be said with Jenai. Jenai is a new artist who will see the release of her debut record on Curb Records.
From a small Idaho town near the Canadian border, Jenai was raised by her amateur singing mother in a musical family that included her guitar playing grandfather. Learning from the records that her mother owned, which varied from Hank Williams to Bonnie Raitt, Jenai has captured the essence of those recordings.
Jenai's debut CD is titled Cool Me Down. There is a sassiness to her voice that echo's the best of the Judds and Raitt. It is almost as if Jenai is the lost Judd sister or daughter of Bonnie Raitt. There are some uptempo songs and some soft tender ballads with all the emotion of Mandy Barnett and Trisha Yearwood.
"Cool Me Down" has a bluegrass sound to it that is simply fantastic. While at first it may seem like a lighthearted song, there aren't many singers that could pull off such a fantastic song with the depth and emotion of "Cool Me Down." This is a song that would sound great among the sea of ballads at radio and is a perfect driving song.
"It Won't Be Me" is one of the soft and tender ballads. This song is beautiful and touching. With it's lyrics about the woman not waiting for her man to love her, this track sounds like it came off of Bonnie Raitt's last record.
With its decidedly western swing sound, "Papa Don't Ask, Mama Don't Know" could easily have been a hit back in the fifties. It sounds like something that Brenda Lee would've had fun with. This is just one more element of the wonderful sound that Jenai, also her band's bass player, produces.
"Loraine" is the most contemporary sounding track on the CD and probably the best bet for airplay. This song, about a woman who gets any man she wants, is one of the three tracks co-written by Jenai.
"South Side Stomp" is one of those tracks that will instantly get you tappin your toes and word is that it already has a dance. Could this song rejuvenate the country dance clubs? It certainly has a fun sound to it. Her vocals are reminiscent of Shania Twain's on this track. Jenai co wrote this track as well.
With a wide variety of tracks, Jenai's Cool Me Down is one CD that should propel her into star status but most likely will need a grass-roots campaign to get this northwest native some well-deserved airplay.
Song List:
Audio clips courtesy Jenai's Official Website
Album cover, used with permission of Curb.
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