Welcome home forever once again.

May 1, 2009 by Joshua    No Comments    Posted under: music, music feature

Today is May Day! Spring is upon us, and with it comes lovely weather and a feeling of energy.

So, to honor the occasion, I have written this music feature of Jason Webley‘s 2004 album Only Just Beginning, which includes a song that I feel does the season justice. I first learned about Webley from Neil Gaiman’s Twitter and blog, and I can see why a writer such as Gaiman would be into his music.

Photo courtesy of jasonwebley.com.

Album: Only Just Beginning

Artist: Jason Webley

Genre: Folk, gypsy

Sounds like maybe: moe., Rusted Root, Gogol Bordello

Webley has a style accustomed to live performances, and it comes out in his studio albums. The melodies of his songs are solid, commanding the listener’s toes to tap uncontrollably, and one cannot help but feel compelled to sing along to the somewhat repetitive but often brilliant lyrics.

To appropriately describe this album, I feel I must break it down song by song. Each one will include a link to a sample of the song, pulled from the Web site of 11 Records, the record label. My apologies if anyone is bothered by the length of this article.

Only Just Beginning starts off with three slow, meaningful tracks, liking waking up and coming out of hibernation at the end of Winter. In “February Relaxing Her Fingers After a Brief Winter’s Grip”, Webley manages to sound reserved and yet powerful, as if he is holding back a force that is ready to break out at a moment’s notice. Dainty notes from the xylophone, string and wind instruments punctuate this arrested urgency, echoing as if they were resounding throughout a crisp, snowy morning.

“Music That Puts Everything Together” is slightly more lively, but it still has a heavy feeling both in melody and lyric. It is a heartfelt lament for endings and departures, sung over top a sound similar to that of a clock, ticking away the seconds.

This slow, sorrowful feeling carries over to “Balloon Feather Boat Tomato”, which relates sad details to the listener in such a way as to suggest that the pain is fated to occur, that it cannot be avoided. Throughout these drawn-out phrases, Webley’s voice remains strong, weaving elegant melodies with the expert instrumental accompaniment provided by the band.

At this point in the album, there is a distinct transition both in the style and titling of the tracks. Coming off of the mournful, slow-moving tracks with somewhat long and complex titles, Webley shoots off into a series of songs with one-word titles and faster tempos. The content of the songs changes, as well: Each song seems to tell a story of an individual slipping into madness, haunted by his inner (and outer) demons.

Webley tells his modernized version of the Greek myth in “Icarus”. The winged character is portrayed as one suffering from a complex hysteria, finding solace in pain and sickness, comparing it to a mistress. This mentality is reflected in the instrumentation, as the clarinet and string instruments whine  and maniacally laugh behind the droning twang of the guitar and thump of the drum. Meanwhile, Webley commands the tone of his voice to shift anger into madness, frequently building up tension and volume before ebbing back down to a level slightly beyond sanity.

In “Mine”, the ailment is obsession. In a situation vaguely reminiscent of Universal Hall Pass’ “Katrinah Josephina” (a possible topic for a later post), Webley tells the story of a man seeking fortune deep beneath the earth, promised to him in a dream. Again, the emotion of the story is portrayed in the composition of the song. String instruments provide dissidence, moving from foreground to background in the audial range, and Webley repeats the phrase “He goes down” like a mantra.

And “Map”… “Map” is beautiful. The phrasing of the lines and the lyrics are no less than enchanting. Each instrument has a voice of its own, from the laugh and whine of the clarinet to the meander of the bass, or the xylophone that might call to mind the image of a skeleton playing its own rib bones with drumsticks. Like the previous tracks, it tells the story of a man haunted by his own demons, caught by the stench of death in the world and growing cold to emotion. The instruments mockingly laugh at his situation, and his life falls apart around him, irreconcilable because of the change it has brought upon him.

“Viaje” throws the listener into a story of confusion and a sense of losing oneself. The emphasis of each measure is on the first beat, driving the melody and creating a sense of urgency. Such phrases are juxtaposed by drawn-out, frail segments that sound as if they might snap from the tension at any moment. In this way, there is a sharp contrast in intensity throughout the song.

“Viaje” peters off into silence, leading oddly into the most upbeat song of the album, “May Day”. As the name suggests, this track is a celebration of the rites of Spring, describing pastoral merriment akin to that time of year. It is not hard to imagine, while listening to this song, village lasses in sundresses doing a round of jigs while, nearby, a bearded man in overalls stamps his foot and slaps his knee. Though it does not seem to fit with the feel of the rest of the album, “May Day” is extremely loyal to its folk roots, and Webley and his band deliver a solid performance.

After such a rousing tune, the album reverts to the solemn sound it began with in the track “With”. Webley and his piano accompaniment move at their own pace, pushing slowly through a ship story that sounds as if it is sung by a weathered sea captain bent thoughtfully over a mug in a tavern. The volume builds up toward the end, turning into a round and then tapering off toward the end.

“Coda” provides a summary of the emotions expressed throughout the album. It carries on for longer than any of the other tracks, running for just over 10 minutes – a common element in Webley’s albums, which usually end with hidden tracks, though in this case the whole length is one continuous song. It begins with the tick-tock sound heard in “Music That Puts Everything Together”, building up to a strong yet slow sound similar to “With”. About 4 minutes into the song, a touch of madness is inserted with clarinet and string sounds similar to the ones found in “Icarus” and “Map”, while Webley’s voice becomes more succint, playful and varying in its tone. Throughout these changes, he repeats the chorus, “Only just beginning”. After several minutes, the melody crescendoes before dropping off to a quieter, simpler construction that plays about for a bit before bringing the album to a close.

Okay, so the album does not necessarily embody the vigor of Spring from start to finish. Regardless, it is a masterful piece of work, like most of the rest of the material Webley has produced.

It is also worth noting that Webley’s discography features a wide variety of sounds. His work ranges from goofy and upbeat tunes to solemn, self-reflective pieces, as demonstrated by this album. For a sample of something that differs from the music heard on Only Just Beginning, I provide you with this video of the song “Eleven Saints”, which Webley played with Jay Thompson for the album of the same name. Being an artist who is famous for his live performances, Webley has played with many great musicians, including Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls. Note: The song in this video is not from the album featured in this article.

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