Luxury Experience - Jude Johnstone

With the latest release from Jude Johnstone, Jude Johnstone – Shatter, you will get those great lyrics we have come to expect from Jude, her great vocals, and of course arrangements that complement her lyrics, but with Shatter, Jude layers in a stellar horn section and a 1940’s Jazz sound that heightens her arrangements to a new level.

Jude Johnstone - Shatter: Shatter; What A Fool; When Does Love Get Easier; The Underground Man; Girl Afraid; Alcohol; Touchdown Jesus; Halfway Home; Who Could Ask For More; Your Side Of The Bed; Free Man

Personnel: Jude Johnstone: Lead Vocals, Piano, Backup Vocals, Pump Organ; Adam Gust: Drums; Jon Ossman: Bass, Upright Bass, Fretless Bass, Banjo, Baritone Guitar; Kris Hawkins: Guitar; Andrew Synowiec: Guitar; Dan Savant: Trumpet; Charley Morillas: Trombone; Radoslav Lorkovic: Organ; Maxayn Lewis: Backup Vocals; David Ricketts: Drums, Bass, Guitar, Piano, Samples; Kevin McCormick: Bass; Peter White: Guitar; Marc Macisso: Sax; Ned Albright: Backup Vocals; Brynn Albanese: Violin; Bob Liepman: Cello; Danny Frankel: Cajon, Bodhran, Tamb, drums, Percussion; Charles Duncan: Acoustic Guitar; Tim Young: Electric Guitar; Paddy Keenan: Uileann Pipes, Flute, Slide Guitar, Fuzz Trem Guitar, Ukelele, ; Ray Duncan: Backup Vocal; Darrell Voss: Drums, Percussion;

Jude Johnstone – Shatter was produced by Jude Johnstone and marks her 6^th release on the BoJak Records label. This will be the 5^th release by Jude Johnstone to be reviewed in the Music Scene section of Luxury Experience; the releases reviewed include Jude Johnstone – Quite Girl, Jude Johnstone – Mr. Sun, Jude Johnstone – Blue Light, and Jude Johnstone – On a Good Day. Jude is a remarkable singer and songwriter, She continues to craft tracks that expand the imagination and create vivid imagery that listeners can relate to on different levels.

The release opens with the title track Shatter, a moving arrangement paced by Jude’s distinct vocals, her complementing piano work, and the horn’s subtle tone that project the feeling of being anxious, as she sings “I’ve been here before, Bent to the sky, Too scared to run, Too weak to fly,…”

The song What A Fool is jumping and jiving with an arrangement where Jude’s lyrics resonate like the call of a train whistle echoing in the distance. A strong arrangement that displays Jude’s musical acumen as she features sassy horns, a 40’s Jazz sound, and a driving bass line.

The pace changes back to a pop ballad with the track When Does Love Get Easier featuring exceptional harmonies, brilliant lyrics, and a brazen horn segment that sets the mood for the arrangement. Keeping with a 40’s sound is the track The Underground Man that has an enchanting arrangement that harmonizes with Jude’s enthralling lyrics “The Underground man, He lives in a corner, He’s certain he’s right, and the whole world is wrong.”

Girl Afraid takes a look at the challenges of entering into a relationship and what it means to commit, “I’m just a girl afraid, Afraid of what I didn’t do, Afraid of where we’re going to,….”; Jude’s lyrics strike a chord for so many people, but it is her arrangements that balance the feeling being projected that continue to amaze me.

The track Alcohol is a moving arrangement that talks of the impact of being with a person who partakes of too much alcohol; her lyrics are stirring and pointed while her arrangement is tight and draws the listener to each word she sings. Touchdown Jesus changes the pace with a New Orleans arrangement infused with a dash of Jazz; a catchy track that will dance in your head for days after you hear it.

Other great tracks include Halfway Home, with great horn work to cast the right mood, Who Could Ask For More, a rhythmic arrangement, simple but catchy and laced with powerful Jude lyrics, Your Side of the Bed, deals with the passing of a loved one and how to cope with the feelings which she conveys through an arrangement that features just Jude, her piano, and the gentle sound of a bow feathering across the strings of a cello, and Free Man which closes out the release with some pop, sizzle, great harmonies, and playful saxophone work.

Jude continues to expand her horizons and with Shatter she opens new doors and draws the question “What will she bring to her next release?”, but for now we can enjoy Shatter and take in Jude Johnstone's latest masterpiece.