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Baltimore native Cris Jacobs has been performing music for more than two decades as part of Smooth Kentucky, The Bridge and since 2011 as a solo artist. The singer-songwriter has released the following critically acclaimed albums, Songs for Cats and Dogs (2012), Dust to Gold (2016), and Color Where You Are (2019).
The past handful of years, Jacobs has done some deep introspection and contemplation about his existence and place in the world. A practice common for many humans in their lives. One conclusion he reached, “As kids, we always had that feeling of things are going to work out, the way I dream they’ll work out. But then, the goal posts keep moving. And you wake up one day, and you’re 45 and still reaching. I think that’s human nature, and that’s what I’ve come to accept and embrace.”
“Amongst everything, I was having a musical identity crisis as well. I thought, ‘You know, I’m just going to go back to the things that make me really inspired and happy. The simple things.” At a musical festival they both were playing at; Jacobs met the legendary Jerry Douglas. A time later Jacobs reached out to Douglas to see if he would produce Jacobs’ new album. Douglas said he’d be happy to. Then Jacobs reached out to the International Bluegrass Music Association Award winning and Grammy Award winning Bluegrass band, The Infamous Stringdusters who shared a similar response as Douglas. Jacobs said, “I’ve always found so much comfort in roots music — in string band music. There’s just something about the sound of all those instruments together that resonates with me to my core and brings me grounding and peace.”
In addition to his grounding and peace, Jacobs shared about his positive perspective on making his new album, “Reminding myself to get out of my own way and keep it simple and soulful was the mantra that propelled the whole thing. And having a guy like Jerry [Douglas], a hero of mine who’s so connected to American roots music but has always been an innovator, patting me on the back and saying everything sounded good and that he liked my songs was one of the biggest boosts of encouragement I could have gotten.”
And that brings us to Jacobs’ newest album, One Of These Days which is out for your listening pleasure on Friday April 26th via the fabulous Soundly Music. The album features a who’s who of legendary voices and musicians in the music industry.
Giving credit where it’s due. One Of These Days album credits:
- Cris Jacobs on acoustic and electric guitar, vocals, songwriter
- The Infamous Stringdusters are Travis Book on bass, vocals, Andy Falco on guitar Jeremy Garrett on fiddle, vocals, Andy Hall on dobro and Chris Pandolfi on banjo
- Jerry Douglas on lap steel, and produced the album.
- Lindsay Lou on vocals “Heavy Water” and “Work Song (I Can Still Sing)”
- Jordan Perlson on drums “Heavy Water,” “Poor Davey” and “Work Song (I Can Still Sing)”
- Billy Strings on guitar and vocals “Poor Davey”
- Sam Bush on mandolin “One of These Days” and “Queen of the Avenue”
- McCrary Sisters on vocals “Queen of the Avenue” and “Cold, Cold Walls”
- Lee Ann Womack on vocals “Lifetime to Go”
- Ashby Frank on mandolin “Poor Davey,” “Lifetime to Go,” and “Everybody’s Lost” and vocals on “One of These Days.”
- Engineered by Sean Sullivan, Assistant engineer – Skylar Chuckry
- Mastered by Paul Blakemore
- Recorded at The Sound Emporium in Nashville, TN. Additional recording at The Tractor Shed in Goodlettsville, TN
And now some hype for your ears!
The hopeful, “Work Song (I Can Still Sing) (feat. Lindsay Lou)”:
(All credits and rights to Cris Jacobs)
The beautiful shot, sweet video for “Lifetime to Go (feat. Lee Ann Womack):
(All credits and rights to Cris Jacobs)
The deeply personal “Daughter, Daughter”:
(All credits and rights to Cris Jacobs)
Overall, One Of These Days is another step of songwriting growth for Jacobs. I love the lively, well-constructed melodies with robust vocals that are combined with darker themes and lyrics. Kudos for those brilliant compositions. The result is a feat that many aren’t this good at. Kudos for including all of this musical talent. It is on display and ridiculous. Everyone contributes significantly to the songs and album as a whole. And works well together. Themes once again like previous Jacobs works include his native Baltimore. But they’re not limited to Baltimore as they also explore human existence, relationships, age, and a natural disaster to name a few. Here’s to hoping all these vocal and band instrumentation pairings happen again in the future.
“Heavy Water” kicks off the album with frenzied string heavy melody. In all the best ways. The musical talent during solos and overall melody allow the listener to hear and enjoy each of The Infamous Stringdusters from Chris Pandolfi on banjo, to Jeremy Garrett on fiddle, to Travis Book on vocals and upright bass, to Andy Hallo on that lively dobro guitar and Andy Falco on guitar. You also hear Lindsay Lou on backing vocals during the refrains that state the songs title. It’s truly a great, energetic jam to start an album with. One that might take to a front porch in the south on a summer’s night or your own backyard if you had talented musician friends. The lyrics are darker than the melody, telling of a Louisiana flood paired with Jacobs’ passionate, powerful vocal delivery. If you hear it once, you’ll recognize it every time after.
The next song, “Wild Roses and Dirt (feat. Jerry Douglas)” slows down the beat. Jerry Douglas joins on pedal steel with some memorable notes. The Infamous Stringdusters enhance the melody with some fantastic string arrangements that are paired with bittersweet vocals and lyrics that examine human nature and relationships.
“Poor Davey (feat. Billy Strings)” is the first song on this album that Jacobs incorporates Baltimore in. The lyrics were inspired by a news story questioning the main character, Davey’s motives and next moves. The melody kicks off with delightfully dirty guitar chord progression, followed by some well-placed banjo pickin’ and dobro and mandolin from Ashby Frank. During the quieter moments, the listener will hear some fiddle, upright bass.
“Work Song (I Can Still Sing) (feat. Lindsay Lou)” feels like a song you’d sing at work amongst your co-workers. Think tedious, repetitive, backbreaking environments. The melody is stripped down further allowing Lindsay Lou’s and Cris Jacobs’ paired vocals to standout. The difference in their tones are complementary and thus make a perfect pairing. The lyrics are downtrodden but not yet defeated as there is defiance amongst them. The power that song (music) has for many!
The titular song, “One of These Days (feat. Sam Bush)” features the one and only Sam Bush on mandolin. The melody is another buoyant bluegrass jam that also showcases The Infamous Stringdusters, along with Jacobs (on acoustic guitar) and Ashby Frank on vocals. The lyrics remind of the earlier quote from Jacobs about realization and exploration. And also procrastination. The song features great use of refrains and backing vocals to further enhance the theme and set the mood.
The electric guitar from Jacobs, mandolin from Bush and instrumentation of the Infamous Stringdusters creates a beautiful sounding funk on the song “Queen of the Avenue (feat. The McCrary Sisters and Sam Bush).” The resulting sound is slightly different than any heard so far on album. The vocals of Jacobs paired with The McCrary Sisters are a wonderful pairing. Kudos for that choice. The lyrics are set in Baltimore once again, featuring a fictional character who may just have “made it.”
The reflective, yet hopeful lyrics within “Lifetime to Go (feat. Lee Ann Womack)” set the story apart from others. This song features another excellent pairing of vocals between Jacobs and this time, Lee Ann Womack. So complementary to the ears. The melody is once again rooted in bluegrass and cheerful in nature due to the banjo strumming, and high notes from the dobro, upright bass and fiddle.
“Daughter, Daughter (feat. Jerry Douglas)” kicks off with a funky, entire being soul, gravelly melody from pedal steel and a cigar box guitar (Jacobs). Some may call it Swamp Blues. It’s a sound I love to hear on vinyl. So soulful. The deeply personal lyrics to Jacobs are inspired by his own daughters and tell of hopes and wishes for them in childhood.
The next song, “Cold, Cold Walls (feat. The McCrary Sisters)” has lyrics and melody that allow the McCrary Sisters voices to standout and shine. Same with Jacobs. As a listener, you feel like you’re at a blues joint with a small band, one main vocalist and backing vocalists. Especially paired with lyrics that mull over consequences for ones actions in a lonely, isolated setting. For the first half of the song at least you feel like you’re hearing this at a blues joint. Then near the middle of the song, there is a mournful bluegrass based i.e. string instrument solo that switches up the melody allowing for some of the Infamous Stringdusters to showcase their musical talents.
“Pimlico” is another tale set in Baltimore, at the horse racetrack of the same name. Most famous for the Preakness. The lyrics tell of someone enjoying their time, then not as much at the track, wishing for a beneficial outcome for himself. The rollicking melody is lead by Jacobs on cigar box guitar once again and filled out by The Infamous Stringdusters and their fantastic sounding strings.
The lyrics within “Everybody’s Lost” are both relevant to the shared human existence and also are validating in message. To oversimplify, it is a reminder to keep on keeping on. The mandolin from Ashby Frank and instrumentation from the Infamous Stringdusters create a sweet melody that not only pair exquisitely with Jacobs’ vocals but also the tone. Seems like a great message to end an album on.
One Of These Days gets 4.5 out of 5 Scum Drops from me. It’s an excellent release, not amongst the very best of 2024, but still well worth of the 4.5 Scum Drop rating putting it in the 84th-95th percentile of all music this year. Outstanding vocals from Lindsay Lou, The McCrary Sisters, Lee Ann Womack and Jacobs. Top notch musical instrumentation from the Infamous Stringdusters and Douglas, Perlson, Bush, Billy Strings, and Frank. Superb sonic quality too. Worth adding to your collection on any and all formats of your choice. I’d start with vinyl, myself.
One Of These Days Track listing (song length)
- Heavy Water [4:16]
- Wild Roses and Dirt (feat. Jerry Douglas) [4:34]
- Poor Davey (feat. Billy Strings) [5:16]
- Work Song (I Can Still Sing) (feat. Lindsay Lou) [3:29]
- One of These Days (feat. Sam Bush) [4:40]
- Queen of the Avenue (feat. The McCrary Sisters and Sam Bush) [3:58]
- Lifetime to Go (feat. Lee Ann Womack) [4:19]
- Daughter, Daughter (feat. Jerry Douglas) [3:25]
- Cold, Cold Walls (feat. The McCrary Sisters) [3:28]
- Pimlico [4:57]
- Everybody’s Lost [4:20]
Total runtime: 46:42
I’ll always advocate that you take the time to listen to every album in its entirety. The process for this album is less than 50 minutes from start to finish. Along the way, you’ll discover your own favorite songs without the influence or bias of others. After a few listens on my own, the songs that are highlighted in green font above are my favorite songs on this album.
Cris awesome website with socials, tour info, and merch can be found right here!
Thank you for reading and supporting good music.
Until next time,
Alex
Scummy Water Tower Productions co-founder, reviewer, business manager, and editor. Thank you for visiting this site: scummywatertower.com, and YouTube for Water Tower Sessions!
Contact me: alex@scummywatertower.com
