Jake Gray - American Poet (2019)

In the realm of entertainment, music is a spectacular value. I recall the fifteen-year-old me spinning a 45-RPM single cut of Heart’s Barracuda over and over again, a two-dollar investment in a slice of entertainment that endures over the ensuing decades. Audiophiles crave that incontrovertibly unique experience of connecting with a song, and even though the world is awash with music, such an experience is exceedingly rare. That’s why Jake Gray’s second album, American Poet, is so unlikely.
Listening to American Poet, I experienced ardent connections to the melodies, lyrics, and musicianship. As a drummer, I impulsively tune in to the beat, and although the drumming here is not progressive, it is powerful, demanding of the auditor’s attention, and on the money. Take “I Just Play,” for example. The driving beat is worthy as an expression of art on its own. The accents are counterintuitive in a pleasing way, and the kick is locked in sync with the bass guitar. Sure. The beat in these songs is the perennial 4/4 time, but a good drummer can do a lot with 4/4 time, and Jamie Gray, who happens to be Jake Gray’s wife, is good enough by far to keep the auditor’s feet tapping and arouse a drummer’s imagination