Some of my favorite artists to listen to are ones who are:
a) Making music for themselves, and
b) Giving me something I haven't heard before.
There's not a whole heck of a lot of music like that out there in my opinion. But, when there's both emotion (telling me the performance comes from the heart) and originality (something that expands my brain a little bit) behind the music, that's something special. That's what you have with Jim White's Wrong-Eyed Jesus album.

When you have someone who's not afraid take a trip outside of the box, it's pretty typical that there's going to be some stuff you don't quite get with your first few listens. I don't know if anyone else has had this feeling before, but here's how it usually goes for me. I'll play a CD (U2's Zooropa, Lucinda Williams' Essence, this Jim White CD) and think, "What?!? This isn't what I was expecting. Why did I spend 15 bucks on this? It's nonsense." But, while all this is rushing through my head, there's also a little drizzle coming through saying, "Wait a minute. Why would somebody make an album this different if they weren't trying to say something?"

Despite this small undercurrent of good thought, I'll put the CD aside for a while. However, when I come back to it and listen again, I realize the power and uniqueness of what the artist is trying to do. That's the case with this Jim White CD. You may not get it on your first one or two listens, but when you do start experiencing this music it's quite moving.

To understand Jim White’s CD, it might help to approach it differently than you would your average music album. Throw out the idea that Wrong-Eyed Jesus has 11 songs on it. Come to the album with the idea that Jim White is going to paint 11 different pictures for you. To paint these pictures properly he’s going to do everything that he possibly can to help you experience what he’s saying. He's going to use song, maybe a banjo, synthesizers, crickets, ...anything.

Most of the paintings are a little dark and creepy. So, to help you experience what he's getting at, Jim White is going to create a dark and creepy melody for a backdrop. He sets you down in this setting and puts your mind to work.

Some of White’s best images pertain to living our lives. Instead of minimizing his reflections of life down to short clichés, White paints broad pictures. These picture don’t answer questions, they create questions.

The CD starts off with two of these songs, Book of Angels and Burn The River Dry. Angel-Land and The Road That Leads to Heaven have similar themes; they come later in the album. The true meaning of these songs is definitely up for debate, but I think they’re all talking about how life isn’t always what we expect it to be.

They’re pessimistic and very cryptic. I think this accurately reflects the image of life White wants to create for us.

White tells us in Book of Angels…

“Sure is cool. Sure is wild. Once I was a little baby (child),
but I lost my car, and I lost my dreams, so won’t you help me
help me write my Book of Angels.”

And, in Burn the River Dry…

“Me, I don’t care... I just pay what it takes to feel alive
Somehow, somewhere
everyone I know is waiting...
just waiting to burn that river dry.”

The pessimism continues with Still Waters. Still Waters focuses on the irony of life, …one minute life is going good and then next minute something bad is happening. But, things aren’t that simple in Jim White’s world, …maybe the bad thing is actually a good thing. White never offers easy answers.

The only easy answer he seems to offer is that religion leads to trouble. He addresses this in two songs, When Jesus Gets A Brand New Name and Wordmule. Both songs could be listened to and applied to those who abuse religion, but they still rubbed me pretty harshly and I almost always skip over them.

One of my favorite songs on the album is Sleepy-town. In this story White creates the mood of a person so overwhelmed with trouble that sleep is like the only way of escape. As that relaxed feeling comes over you, you’re sure things will be alright.

“In Sleepy-town, you let the wild wind blow away your name.
In Sleepy-town, you let the healing rain just wash your pain away.”

All the songs I’ve mentioned so far take place in a dark dreary world. It’s a wonderful effect to get you involved in what Jim is trying to get across in his song. But, it makes the album a little inaccessible to new listeners.

There are two songs that are easier to discover and enjoy. One is A Perfect Day to Chase Tornados. While still dark, it’s catchy and easily understandable.

The other song is Heaven of My Heart, which is extremely happy and easy to enjoy. Its optimism amidst all the pessimism accentuates its good spirits even more. It’s a wonderful song about the happiness of being in love. It’s almost like White is saying, “Yeah, life can be crappy. But, if you have someone to love you can handle it.”

It’s pretty much the only glimmer of happiness on White’s album. It’s in direct contrast to Stabbed in the Heart which gives a disturbing allegory of the pain that comes with someone breaking your heart.

Overall, Wrong-Eyed Jesus is a CD for true music fans that want to listen to music that doesn't get old the more you listen to it; instead, it gets better. If you've ever listened to music that you don't initially like in order to figure it out, you might want to try this one out. I’ve found it to be quite rewarding.

Song List
1. Book Of Angels
2. Burn The River Dry
3. Still Waters
4. When Jesus Gets A Brand New Name
5. Sleepy-Town
6. A Perfect Day To Chase Tornados
7. Wordmule
8. Stabbed In The Heart
9. Angel-Land
10. Heaven Of My Heart
11. The Road That Leads To Heaven


Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Listening