Jon Regen seems to be a natural successor of Marc Cohn, of Walking in Memphis fame. Vocally and stylistically, they closely resemble one another - I'd love to see Regen do a couple of Cohn's songs as covers. There's also a hint of Sting / the Police (helped along by Andy Summers, from the Police on one track)
Let It Go is a wonderful album - it's full of depth, emotion and feeling from the beginning to the end. I've found it to be a very relatable album, with songs such as Photographs of You and I Come Undone.
This isn't an emotional dumping ground for Regen - there's a very dynamic feel to this album, and it covers a lot of ground, both with its songwriting and with it's feel. We have songs here with a lot of energy to some of the more downbeat ones, the type that bring out memories. Other tracks have a very old school sound to it, similar to some of the tracks that I listened to from the 60s and 70s.
What really strikes me is the piano work here. There's a really nice, familiar jazz feel to it, and he really knows his way around the keyboard - it's something that where a lot of artists play it, but I haven't really heard a whole lot who can play it at this level - it's very striking and sets the album and Regen apart from other male singer-songwriters.
The album isn't perfect - some of the songs are similar thematically and sound-wise that it's hard to distinguish them with casual listens, and at times, he does sound a bit too much like Marc Cohn - I had to really put a couple songs together and listen closely to make sure that I wasn't listening to the same singer. Fortunately, there's worse artists you can sound like.
I really got a kick out of this album - it's a good listen. I'm getting to the point where I'm overly critical of artists that I haven't heard of, who are asking for attention from the blogging world - it's very nice to be surprised and to come across an artist who I'll go out of my way to look for in the future.
Let It Go - Jon Regen
Finding My Way Back To Me - Jon Regen
