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Joan Jones, Brown Blonde, 2007 (Circle Back Music)
Joan Jones is a native of Los Angeles, CA — born and raised in Hollywood. She was the trumpet-playing mascot at the infamous Hollywood High, and began her music career shortly after graduating high school. Jones was a founding member of the acoustic duo Sun 60, who released three records in the early 1990's under Sony's Epic label. The duo's break-up in 1997 led to the start of Jones's solo career. From 1998 through 2002, Jones released three moderately successful solo records. In 2007 Jones signed with Nashville-based Circle Back Music, and her first release under the new label, Brown Blonde, is an auspicious beginning to say the least. The new record begins with "Pick up My Guitar," an electric pop/rock number that strikes the proper balance between Rilo Kiley and Jenny Lewis's side-project with the Watson Twins. This balance between L.A. pop and organic Americana continues in track two ("Singer, Please Sing") and is the general tone driving the entire record. Jones's vocals are better than ever, and each song manages to showcase her seductively warm timber while simultaneously surrounding it in a bevy of instruments. Tracks three ("Wanted") and four ("Always") are sunny-pop gems reminiscent of Crowded House and swell with the magic of Shawn Colvin. "Fade" (track 5) marks a turn toward a more melancholy and rootsy tone, while tracks six ("So Your Love") and seven ("New Year's Eve) infuse the pop sensibilities of Aimee Mann into nostalgic rainy-day moods. Track eight ("Regard Me") manages to duplicate the fun and whimsy of Cheryl Crow's "All I Wanna Do," complete with slide guitar and half-sung lyrics pressing toward a hook-heavy chorus. Good hooks are all over this record. Brown Blonde is punctuated by two live songs (tracks 9 and 10) performed with only piano and acoustic guitar that prove Joan Jones is, indeed, the real deal. Brown Blonde is a collection of ten outstanding songs—all of which could find radio success. After many years of writing and performing, it's time for the world to meet Joan Jones. Producer Nick Didia deserves praise as well, as he has put the magic touch on a record that will no doubt come to be viewed as the "beginning" in what has already been a long climb to the top for Joan Jones. — Vincent Wynne
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