Album Reviews

Sure, being a shy, self-conscious kid from a rural western town trying to come to terms with life in the big city who constantly yearns for the reciprocity of love to come to fruition, may make it all very easy to cast Jon- Rae Fletcher as the consummate underdog. He even looks the part- tall and sinewy in stature, with a disheveled mane, a goofy grin, and big, thick glasses that may have been popular in the 1950's; Jon Rae practically begs you to root for him.

The son of a minister who spent his childhood in Christian schools and church groups and who never gave up on the gospel songs of his youth, Jon- Rae has crafted a unique sound that defies classification. Yes, it's close enough musically to be lumped in with the likes of Jason Molina and his Electric Magnolia Co., but to call Jon- Rae's music 'alt. country' not only misses the point, it pisses him off. That it's too rock to be country, and too raw to be gospel music only compounds the problem of marketability in a genre driven industry. However, he sings with such passion, immediacy, and downright urgency that you may have no choice but to cheer him on anyhow—and anyway, doesn't everyone want the underdog to come out on top?

I do, but I realize I may be asking for too much here. We are, after all, dealing with a bookish bunch of misfit musicians who look like they still play Dungeons & Dragons on a regular basis and who have a female back-up singer that looks tough enough to kick all of their asses simultaneously, Chuck Norris style, should any of them ever sass back at her, and a lead singer that tries to balance his religious beliefs with a serious appetite for alcohol and sex. The former a result of not getting enough of the latter, I suppose, but still: a band that does gospel-like rave-ups with a full-on choir in the wings singing a song called 'Fuck Me' can't be serious. Can they?

They can, and they are, and what enables them to pull it off so perfectly is the key ingredient here: humility. Without it, Jon- Rae would come off like a drunken, sex-starved sicko, and the gospel-like hymns would reek of sacrilege, but Jon-Rae is so adept at getting across the meek, humble, and bashful qualities that embody humility, he's somehow able to turn the trick, making songs about booze and sex seem as spiritually important as anything they'll teach you in church.

You could argue the continuity as pre-planned in the sense that Christian dogma asserts the necessity of humility to attain glory, but Jon-Rae doesn't want to be anybody's Amy Grant, and any parallels are more than likely coincidental. Besides, Jon- Rae & The River are no Christian rock group, and definitely have no plans of playing the Sonshine Festival anytime soon.

Theirs is a unique brand of good old rock n' roll, country, soul, R&B, and gospel with a definite celebratory spirituality that inhabits the songs, but is of no particular denomination to be sure.

Knows What You Need is about sex, liquor, and making it in the city, and as such is really one huge rock n' roll clich' played out over the course of an entire album, but it's so genuine in its innocence and sincerity that you take him on his word. And why not? He's like some drunk who bares his soul without an ounce of shame to anyone who'll listen only to forget the next morning, and has no trouble pleading for one last fuck over and over, like he does on the fourth track, 'Just One More.' The song starts off with some lovely Stax-like horns and keeps the R&B groove going throughout, with Jon-Rae dramatically declaring 'I cannot be, I will not be satisfied,' while the choir repeats the words 'just one more' in a hushed tone that makes it seem like a soothing mantra.

I've focused a lot on Jon-Rae the man here, and while he writes the songs, Knows What You Need is a true band effort, and all six members of The River handle their parts with aplomb, but it's back-up singer Anne Rust D'eye (very funny) that really shines here, giving most of the songs additional weight and impact, and perfectly complimenting Jon- Rae's disjointed

delivery. But she's not merely a back-up singer in the traditional sense, and Rae's intuitiveness must be credited, as he innately knows when to let the band loose and when to rein them in. So when he lets Rust D'eye take control on a significant chunk of the wax, he shows not only testicular fortitude and good instincts, he demonstrates again, the positive quality of humility, and it works wonders as she takes the lead on 'When You Come Knocking' and thoroughly ignites it. She has a similar effect on the aforementioned 'Fuck Me,' where she harmonizes like a siren before taking over the lead and injecting the song with a necessary female touch.

All of which gives the song, and the album as a whole, the feel that it was written for a different generation, like the 1950's when guys wore letterman sweaters, girls wore those long poodle skirts, and sock hops were all the rage. Perhaps it's the work of Paul Aucoin (The Sadies, Cuff The Duke, Fembots) at the controls that aids in this feel, as the album sounds very organic and natural, like it was recorded live in the studio. Overdubs and other trickery are kept to a minimum, allowing the band to sound much the way they do live, and it's this lack of technology that gives the album such a warm, lovely, and thoroughly inviting sound.

With such a strong follow-up to last years excellent Old Songs For The New Town (Permafrost Records, FROST010) it's only a matter of time before Jon-Rae exits the realm of the underdog, so if you want to say you knew him when, you should get on it because word is traveling fast.

Now, however presumptuous the title may be, it really does turn out that Jon-Rae knows what I need. The only question left, is if he knows what you need?