Jamie Rowe
This Is Home
2019 Kivel Records
Produced By: Jamey Perrenot
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Track Listings
Musicians
Jamie Rowe: Lead Vocals
Jamey Perrenot: All Guitars, Bass, Banjo, Keyboards & Programming
R. Smith Curry: Steel Guitar
Ross Holmes: Fiddle
Zac Childs: Mandolin
Amber Rowe: Background Vocals (Let's Get This Party Started)
Peyton Rowe: Background Vocals (Let's Get This Party Started)
If you've been a fan of Christian music then the name Jamie Rowe should sound familiar. For many years he was the front man for one of best rock bands, Guardian. Just like Guardian's sound evolved over the years, so has Jamie's music. I believe this is his 3rd solo album, but it's the first that I've listened to. Released in 2019 on Kivel Records as part of crowd funding, I wasn't sure what the album sounded like when I purchased it from Girder recently. Before I get into some of the tracks, let me just say if you are expecting another Guardian sounding album, you may be disappointed.
Do you remember your reaction when you first heard Darius Rucker's first solo album after leaving Hootie & the Blowfish? That's the best way I can describe This Is Home. Jamie has a great rock 'n roll voice, but does it fit the country music scene? This album is full of harmony and definitely has a country western twang in some places. I'm not saying that in a bad way, I just wasn't expecting Jamie to go this route, however after repeated listens I do like the album.
The opening track, Let's Get This Party Started is one of the best songs on the album and a great song to kick off the album. It has a great high energy sound with a booming chorus that you can't help but to sing along with.
From there we move into a mid-tempo acoustic song, Better Off Than Yesterday. If you stop and take a listen to the lyrics you will realize just how personal this song is (actually, most of his album is a very personal album) and about his upbringing. The music video (linked above) also showcases this very well. While this is a change of pace from the opening track, it's a great song and one of my favorites. Born Again is a lot like the previous track, which isn't a bad thing.
The stand out ballads if you will are the title track, This is Home and Jesus is the Way. Both songs are well written and have good sound. From here on out, the album takes a deciding country turn and while it's not bad, it's just not my cup of tea.
Life is Better features a good bit of fiddle and mandolin in an upbeat twang session. Kissin' on You is a quirky, fun song, but one that I tend to skip over when listening to the album from beginning to end. The music video is silly fun and features his wife.
All in all this is a solid album, but not may not be what some were expecting. In the liner notes Jamie credits meeting his wife Amber for being rejuvenated and writing music again. We all go through the motions of life and not everything can be a high, the valleys are all too real and do exist. Sounds like Jamie was going through some "stuff" before things took a turn and he finally realized that "this is home". A solid album and I recommend it, but if you are still a metalhead you may want to sit this one out (instead, check out what he's currently doing w/ Kalamity Kills)
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