CD of the Week Dec.10-16, 2000

Jess Klein-Draw Them Near

Rykodisc

I don’t know much about Jess Klein, the artist behind Draw Them Near. I heard her song, "Little White Dove" late one night on a college radio station while driving across Iowa back in August. What immediately jumps out at you when you hear the song is the strength of her voice. Obvious touchstones for her sound are Emmylou Harris and Sheryl Crow, but she rocks harder than Emmylou and is a more interesting songwriter than Sheryl Crow. This is her second album and it filled with thoughtful yet catchy tunes backed up with excellent instrumentation.

"Little White Dove" is got a full-fledged country sound to it, but the album is hard to categorize. Song 2 entitled "Goodbye, Goodbye" is a rocker while song 3, "Ireland" is folksier. The consistency comes from Klein’s vocals and songwriting. Her voice can be tender and innocent, but also can be strong and sensual. A great example is the soul-drenched "Love is Where You Find It" which sounds like a Lucinda Williams recording made at Stax Studios complete with a horn section. On the opposite side of the spectrum is the next song, "Song for an Angel", which is a folky confessional with soaring vocals that could be an outtake from Emmylou Harris’ Wrecking Ball.

Even though I’ve compared Klein to these similar artists, she still sounds unique enough to have her own voice. In this post-Lilith world of a thousand and one female singer/songwriters with a folksy sound, Klein rises to the top of the heap.

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