One man, his dobro and some blues; a beautiful, atmospheric cover shot of the man and his whisky in a barroom promises some boozy, bluesy fun, and that's pretty much what we get. Song titles like 'Whiskey Song', 'Naughty Jack's Blues' and 'Forget I Was Ever Gone' suggest the late night, bottom-of-the-bottle mood that prevails, though Naughty Jack (known to his folks as Adam Morley) writes lyrics in a simple, direct style that avoid the maudlin cliches you might be dreading; he just deals straightforwardly with the ordinary, everyday things of life, and that's fine.
Clearly a man in love with his music, Naughty Jack has been an itinerant musician for some years, getting around the festivals a bit and 'Good Times' is his first shot at making a record. A pretty spartan production concentrates heavily on his dobro playing, which is colourful, atmospheric and quite inventive. There's just Jack's voice, some acoustic guitar and a double bass to flesh out the sound, so I guess if you're not much into dobro playing, you won't linger long in his company. For me, Jack's lyrics and singing (in a range that's certainly no bigger than Morrisey's) never seem to quite marry with the music; words trip over themselves a bit to fit into a line and consequently his singing tends to sound a bit hurried. Sadly, this intrudes on the mood established by the dobro, and exposes the limitations of his voice; it's not the strongest though it's certainly suited to this bluesy style - kind of reminiscent of some British blues-rock voices of the early 70s.
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However, this boy's certainly a very good dobro player, and some of his licks will stick in your head. 'Good Times' is a very amiable listen and admirably down to earth; it's also true to himself. Though he happily lists his influences in the sleeve notes, he's not really trying to sound like anyone other than Naughty Jack.
(john Davy www.nessmp3.com/music/biscuitsandgravy)
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