by Brian Rill
Jim Remington with Emmy Baskin – First Person
2014
In business school, the first paradigm of prosperity is: include a limited number of primary participants who can consistently agree upon a shared vision and contribute directly. This standard is evident from the success of Jim Remington’s newest self-made CD, First Person. Power trios can routinely climb Billboard charts, and this collaboration is no different. It consists of three artists who make up an array of music heard throughout the 17 mellow, folksy compositions. These three performers operate well together, producing a highly organized collection of chanteys.
Emmy Baskin’s hallowed vocals perfectly accompany the velvety smooth baritone of Jim Remington, whose voice sounds more like a purring lion when his vocals hit a crescendo. Rather than spike up sharply, his cantata drops dramatically below the tonic. Remington’s deep choral tone mixes the resonant timber of Roy Orbinson with Elvis Presley’s rolling vibrato. Fans of Robert Plant and Alison Kraus duets will also enjoy the counterpoint male-female harmonies complementing the slow, groovy cadence of the tunes. Paul Clopton’s dynamic djembe playing keeps time as his high and lonesome harmonica overtones coincide with some of the melodies.
Although independently produced in Westcliffe, Colorado, the music on First Person doesn’t sound anything like a one-man band. Mainly a proficient ukulele player, Jim also strums on the guitar, plucks the bass, plays the penny whistle and fills in ambiance with synthesized orchestration. A dynamic composer, Jim Remington’s songwriting feels roomy and plush while following a steady, easygoing tempo. The many-layered notes become highly textural and sonorous within a sparse new age modality. There are 10 original songs with inviting melodies sure to leave you humming along or eventually whistling with a wistful solo from the fipple flute.
Townes Van Zandt, George Harrison and Crooked Still are among a few artists whose odes make up the remaining texture of the 2014 album. Seven tribute songs have been arranged with succinct grace and show a spirit of novel originality. An instrumental version of While My Guitar Gently Weeps is played on the ukulele, while the musical adaptation from a Francis Miles Finch poem and a leisurely bluegrass cover of In the Air Tonight, by Phil Collins complete the eclectic dossier.
The compact disk itself looks as if it were an ancient stone carving lifted from an archaeological dig. While inspecting the graduating color and depth of indigenous imagery on the cover, one might wonder if this compilation is indeed man-made. Perhaps over centuries an ingenerated erosion etched out this anthropomorphic treasure. First Person is not the offering of a one-dimensional solo artist, rather it is a portfolio cataloging the work of a multi-faceted musician with a simple vision; to produce an aural semblance of innate beauty. The polished red sandstone cliffs visible on the cover represent the soundscape captured via Jim Remington’s musical manifestation.
To learn where to purchase this CD, visit www.jimremington.net
Brian Rill is a troubadour, composer and poet.
