The Modern Lives Vol. 2, Jackie Greene, LP

Vinyl LP pressing including digital download. 2018 release from the Americana/roots singer/songwriter. Jackie Greene is a jack-of-all-trades, and an artist who can croon over soulful piano ballads as much as he can shred a bluesy guitar solo. A road warrior and musician's musician, Greene's EP The Modern Lives - Vol 2 finds him at a new chapter in his life: his first months of fatherhood, time off his relentless touring circuit, and a cross-country move from Brooklyn to his birthplace of Northern California. This collection of six original songs is a thematic extension of The Modern Lives - Vol 1 EP, imbued with a Brooklyn basement DIY feel and ethos. He is a student of American music, transfixed upon it's progression through time, as well as how regional sounds fit in a contemporary context. Whereas Vol 1 saw Greene experiment with the Delta blues as a canvas for his examinations of modern society, Vol 2 sees Greene embrace the sounds of the bluegrass and folk tapes of his youth. Lead single "Crazy Comes Easy" showcases Greene's dynamic, multi-instrumental range as he plays slide guitar, organ, bass, and percussion, the open tuning of the guitar an appreciative nod to his time in The Black Crowes. Meanwhile, "Good Old Bad Times" highlights Greene as the songwriter as he rattles off lines like "How can somebody find a future?/If they ain't got a foothold in the past?" while taking a critical eye to the idea of nostalgia. Piano ballad "Victim Of The Crime" was one of Jackie's oldest demos up until the feel of these sessions gave him the tools to finish a song that, in his words, was written for his wife before she was his wife. While the title possesses a kind of melodrama, the song itself is tender and heartfelt as he details love's trials and tribulations.