The PORTAL MAGAZINE

Jann Arden – Free
Universal Music Canada
September 29, 2009

Its not often that I rush down to my local record store to buy a new album on release day; I’m a cautious purchaser preferring instead to hear a few of the singles on radio prior to buying an entire album but this album was different. I”ve been following Jann Arden on Twitter and reading her blog entries at her Myspace for over two years now, so I felt pretty confident that her new album would be something I want in my collection. INDEED!

I’m sitting here listening to FREE at this moment, typing my thoughts and impressions on the fly, and I’ve decided not to go back and edit any of it -which is just strange for a writer but there is something exciting about doing it this way! The album wallet is a very delicate shade of lavendar/lilac with a picture of Jann on the front, and a blurred photo of Jann on the back along with the track listing. The album liner is tucked inside the inner pocket where it won’t get bent out of shape – usually I pour through the lyrics as I listen to a new cd, but Jann’s voice is so clear, so crisp on this album, that I have no need to read the words as she sings.

The title track, “Free” speaks of breaking out of expectations everyone else has placed upon her – of having people change her hair color and telling her what to be, how to think, what to say – and how she’s now her own person and finally standing on her own two feet at last. It’s a song of finding herself and being herself without all the strings attached by others.

“Daughter Down” combines possible childhood memories with ponderings about being brave enough to cut the rope and go off on her own – ‘would I be that brave if I had one more day’.The end of the song leaves the listener to make up their own mind if the singer has been brave enough to follow through.

“The Devil Won” is melancholy in tone and lyrics, but I really like this song. It’s a song about seeking Hope and not finding it, of wishes and dreams unfulfilled and looking back to realize things are not as one had hoped they would be. Slide guitar, acoustic guitar and snappy drums add depth and resonance to this song at it’s bridge. Backing vocals fill out Jann’s haunting voice on this track.

“Yeah You” -the opening bars strike me as ‘radio airplay’ and the chorus solidifies this thought – I’m sure this song would do well on most radio stations. The song is snappy, light and ethereal in it’s over all sound and Jann’s voice has that lilting quality we are familiar with from other albums past. The lyrics are simple yet complicated – they give a feel of visuals to me rather than suggesting a definite ’story’ or thought – I’ll have to listen to this one a few times to see how I equate it to my own thoughts.

“Away” is a love song; a song of longing and missing someone profoundly special. It’s a heartbreaking song when one actually listens to lyrics and not just melody. “Your kisses are wishes lost in a well, I wander around in some kind of Hell, Cause every time I breathe it hurts.”

“Until This” – I love how this song starts -just love it. I love the drums on this track, the backing vocals just add something more to this song as well. It starts out as a sad song speaking about not knowing love – ‘until this’. To me it’s a song of Hope, of learning and awakening. It ends with Jann singing much higher notes than I’ve ever heard before and I just love it. Again, one of the songs I think is going to be on my ‘favorite’ list for this album.

“You are Everything” – steel guitar. I”m a sucker for that sound, it evokes big night skies and a myriad of stars, and this song does that as well – “you are heavenly, you are heavenly”. This song has moments of a definite country flair to it (backing vocals and how Jann sings certain words give it that effect), but there is also violins and other instrumentation that gives moments of this song an almost orchestral feel to it as well. I love the eclectic-ness of how it all fits together perfectly.

“Everybody’s Broken” is a hard song to listen to. It begins talking about a little boy who’s hated by everyone, who’s been beaten up and broken. It goes on to talk about an elderly woman pulled out of her own home and put into a care home – and how she’s been abandoned by family. “Everybody’s Broken, Everybody’s Broken”

“A Million Miles Away” -Jann’s voice has a new quality to it in this song and it took me a few moments into the song to realize why – she’s singing much higher notes than usual -it sounds good! This song is snappy, and I can sing the chorus after only hearing it twice.  A song of love and longing but happy in remembering and waiting for the lover to return. Fiddle at the bridge of the song gives it a Celtic feel which I really love. The depth of this song at the bridge is incredible – so many layers of instrumentation all working together to give it a rich lush feel but without muddying the vocals or lyrical intent. This song is amazing!

“All the Days” opens with tinkling (a triangle?) and soft vocals; there is a hush to this song’s opening, giving it a sense of intimacy and importance. Strings add to this feel, as does single piano. This song is very spiritual in nature – speaking about end of life and what the singer will be thinking/feeling when that time comes: “When I lay down, and close my eyes to see if Jesus died for me, and that there is a God, I’ll wait for you beyond the lights where darkness fights to keep the sun from coming out, and all the days will wrap around our fingers”.

“Lost” starts out with just Jann and piano. Strong voice with a delicate quality. Haunting. It could be a song from father to daughter, of lover to lover, it could even be a song from God to his child… all fit within the scope of the lyrics. It’s sad and lonely in its feel, but again, has a hopefulness to it that is atypical of Jann Arden’s songs of the past. It’s the perfect way to end this album. “Baby you’re not lost.”

Free is an incredible album. Each song flows into the next with no chopped up feeling – there is a thought process that is evident here- this is not an album with a few radio hits and the rest fillers, this is an incredibly personal album that the singer/songwriter has chosen to share with us. As I mentioned, where many of Jann’s previous albums have an air of melancholy or futility to them, this album is infused with hope, and faith, and a sense of peace within herself that shines through each song.

Free is available now at most record stores and on iTunes

You can follow Jann on Twitter
Read Jann’s blogs at her Myspace
Find Jann’s website here