CD: Seven Generations

Style: Acoustic/Folk

Quote: "If you're a fan of James Taylor and other male acoustic singer-songwriters, go to Nico's website, listen to a few tracks, and then buy the CD".

Upon listening to Nico Pemantle's latest CD release, "Seven Generations," one is struck by how much Pemantle sings, plays, and writes like James Taylor, one of his musical inspirations. The album is a followup to his 1993 release, "Soft Shoulder." And even though this is only his second album, Pemantle is billing this as a "best of" compilation, including five songs from "Soft Shoulder."

Opening with "Friends Like You" (the most James Taylor-esque tune) and finishing up with "The River Runs Dry," this acoustic/folk singer weaves a bright tapestry of vivid melodies, beautiful arrangements, and lyrics that are both sad and full of promise. In fact, the whole CD is one big showcase of Pemantle's genius at songwriting and arranging. He's able to, within the same song, present one mood with the music and a completely different mood with the lyrics.

In "Eulogy," the music is bright and somewhat happy, but the lyrics blindside the listener with the realization that it's about a woman who's had a pretty damn sad love life.

"Listen to the tragedy
about a young girl of 17
when she fell in love too easily
and played the fool.

And suddenly she said "No more,
It isn't worth the grief that lies in store
from this day forward I'll close the door
with my own golden rule."

This is just one of many examples (13 to be exact) of Pemantle's ability to create moods and images with his music, even fooling the listeners into thinking he's something he's not.

When I listened to "Baby Maria," I had to email him to find out if the song was for his daughter. He wrote back and told me that he doesn't have any children, but that it was for his niece. This was staggering, because it sounds like a song that only a father could write for his daughter.

"Look at her sleep,
Safe in mama's arms
Were it always so simple
to keep her from harm."

However, one of my favorite tracks was "Slow Motion." There, Pemantle departs from his typical James Taylor-esque fare, and instead recreates the mood of the "old time" songs from the 1920s and 30s. I could just picture him and his studio musicians in striped blazers, white pants, and skimmers (that's one of those flat straw hats) as they played in the studio.

So if you're a fan of James Taylor and other male acoustic singer-songwriters, go to Nico's website, listen to a few tracks, and then buy the CD. Your collection will be incomplete without it.