CD Review

J.P. Jones Ashes (Vision Company Records)

If you miss the poetry of Dylan but are tired of the succession of macho tyros busy being "The Next Bob Dylan," J.P. Jones is one of the best I've heard. This new album from a veteran of the post-folk boom media fray of the mid 60's is a collection of quiet stories that flare up unexpectedly with real passion and unforgettable moments.

One of the most powerful of these ballads is an ambiguous nightmare of war and flood.

the stillness of my mother
the stench of rotting moss
the horrifying silence
in the blood

how do I tell my brother
that I have lost
the body of my father in the flood

Amidst the chaos of these disasters, a young narrator overcomes terror, loss and grief "To Be A Man."

Among these ashes, something is definitely still burning. Pure poetry. -HB