Eli Young Band - Jet Black and Jealous - Music & Performance - CD

The band's story is the definition of commitment: eight years spent honing it's sound while building to the release of it's first national album. The blend of sonic exuberance and personal maturity is just one of the things that makes the Eli Young Band and their Universal Republic/Universal Records South debut, JET BLACK & JEALOUS, such an intriguing musical masterpiece. The band combined a range of elements-vocalist Mike Eli's ingratiating resonance, guitarist James Young's elastic bag of sounds, bass player Jon Jones' inventive foundation and drummer Chris Thompson's energetic propulsion-to create a 12-song CD that paints even the difficult turns in life with an underlying optimism.

Fans of Rascal Flatts and other slick, harmony-drenched country groups will find much to enjoy about the Eli Young Band, whose songs borrow from rock and pop without ever fully exiting the country camp. The flagship track on this major-label debut is "When It Rains," a holdover from the band's independent release in 2005. Like the other 11 songs found on Jet Black & Jealous, the revamped version of "When It Rains" gleams with commercial sheen, from its polished vocals to the crisp mix of banjo, pedal steel, and electric guitar. Yet there's also a fiery quality to the song, whose twang is balanced by a set of Nashville-gothic lyrics ("It's good to see the world in pain when I take a walk outside") and rock & roll undercurrents. In fact, such moments are the real highlights of Jet Black & Jealous. This isn't country music in the tractor-driving, American flag-waving sense; it's country music with pop production and rock muscle, and the album sounds its strongest while occupying the three-way intersection between those genres. "Radio" is tailor-made for its titular medium, "Always the Love Songs" borrows an intro from the Wallflowers' "6th Avenue Heartache," and "Throw and Go" is a dark, dangerous rock song in cowboys' clothing. Jet Black & Jealous thrives on that contrast, and the Eli Young Band's official debut is promising indeed. ~ Andrew Leahey, All Music Guide

Performer	Eli Young Band
Music genre	Country
Music subgenre	Alternative
Music release type	Release
Media format	CD
Original release date	2008
Edition	Standard
Language	English
Is collectible	Y
Number of tracks	12
Has parental advisory label	N
Number of discs	1
Series title	Eli Young Band - Jet Black & Jealous [CD]
Track listing	When It Rains, Always the Love Songs, Radio Waves, Enough Is Enough, Famous, Throw and Go, Guinevere, Get in the Car and Drive, Jet Black and Jealous, Mystery in the Making, How Should I Know, Home
Record label	Universal South
Music producer	Mike Wrucke and Frank Liddell
Track name	When It Rains, Always the Love Songs, Radio Waves, Enough Is Enough, Famous, Throw and Go, Guinevere, Get in the Car and Drive, Jet Black and Jealous, Mystery in the Making, How Should I Know, Home
Music media format	CD
Is edited	N
Is enhanced	N