Courtney Jaye - Traveling Light
By: Mark Runyon | Category: Album Archive | 06/22/05 | 08:35 PM
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 Grade: B- |
Genre: Pop
Summary: Courtney Jaye has delivered an infectious collection of pop tunes that prove the guiltiest of pleasures.
It was a quaint Friday night many years ago. A friend and I had settled in at Eddie's Attic with our excited energy ready to chew on a new comer that we'd been groovin' on -- Adrienne. The evening's feature act was none other than Sugarland's Kristen Hall, a modern day classic on the Atlanta scene. Usually you know what you are getting yourself into when you walk through the hallowed doors. Occasionally, an artist will gun past your expectations to cement themselves as a must-see act. While others, an album you'd been sampling like a crack pipe falls to the way side when you see it was just the smoke and mirrors of a savvy producer. On this peculiar night, the audience gave way to a foxy young lady who made her way to the stage in order to help Kristen out by singing a song or two. Instantly, she mesmerized everyone. That night belonged to Courtney Jaye. The veteran was forced to take a backseat as this lovely voice gave us a taste of her talent and potential. |
She was like Cinderella vanishing from the ball at the toll of midnight. We'd heard from a friend that she was on the fast track, being lobbied by several major labels, but beyond that factoid the amazing songbird was a mirage. No shows around town to slide in on. No information on the web, past the occasional Rock Boat appearance. No glass slipper to go around making random women try on. It seemed that she was destined to be just another artist with great potential who never arrived. Then several months ago, I noticed Island had picked her up and was planning to release her debut album, allowing the world to see what I had the pleasure of experiencing that one evening at Eddie's.
Traveling Light is a disk buffed to a deep shine. The over production is each a blessing and a curse. It makes the hooks twice as sticky though they inadvertently shroud the power of this talent. We rarely get to test drive that voice to find out where it tops out. The speedometer seems stuck on a safe 45 mph. It feels like she is being groomed to be the next pop icon, seeming to neglect the more artistic side. While I prefer the later, there is nothing wrong with smart pop tunes to offset your music collection. It's a key sign that you don't take yourself too seriously.
The first single "Can't Behave" is perhaps the catchiest thing I've heard thus far this year. If radio happens across this sucker, we'll never hear anything else. Park your thoughts on Sheryl's "All I Wanna Do" and you are pretty close. It is sweet bubblegum goodness that sets up camp in your head with a month's supply of marshmallows. This one also has the distinction of being co-written by Gary Louris of the recently broken Jayhawks. Jaye has quite a stable of high profile admirers. Matthew Sweet takes on co-writing responsibilities and Tift Merritt contributes to the nice album closer "Love Me." It resembles a quiet Hawaiian beach tune. You keep waiting for Chris Isaak to pop his head around the luau shack and hum a few bars.
From here the disk is a mixed bag. "Hanalei Road" is one of the album's brighter lights, starting up with a carefully muffled riff of Dave Matthews' "What Would You Say." It has the feel of a classic acoustic crooner. The exquisite Taj Mahal lends a hand on backing vocals. "Mental" and "Somersault" sound like they should be supporting some angst driven scene on Dawson's Creek. It's not a knock to these songs because the Creek actually featured some pretty stout music from time to time (Jayhawks, Shawn Colvin), but I can't really say that it's a compliment either. Though they sound nice, there's not a whole lot of substance holding them up. "Can You Sleep" was a featured track on One Tree Hill, which I don't really see. It's a ballad that needs less emoting and more genuine emotion. It is one of a handful of tracks that cross over that dreaded line into the land of generic and struggle lyrically.
Courtney Jaye has delivered an infectious collection of pop tunes that prove the guiltiest of pleasures. It's not quite the high browed tunes of a Shawn Colvin or the Indigo Girls, yet it doesn't completely sink to the level of Michelle Branch and Avril either. It seems suspended in sound, not quite sure what Courtney's next move is. Going forward, I think she should tap into the artist more, introducing us to the possibilities of that voice. I've seen it in action so I know there is a gold mine of potential there. I think she could find a nice middle ground to add some depth to her lighter fare similar to what Tift Merritt is doing. Jaye certainly has the goods and Traveling Light weighs in as a solid first effort. It shows ample potential while affording her space to grow.
Buy Courtney Jaye's latest Traveling Light now. Take "Can't Behave" for a spin this week on Live 365's Innovative Radio.
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