Jules Shear - Healing Bones (1994)

Released in 1994 by Island Records, Healing Bones probably wasn't going to end Jules Shear's years of obscurity, but it does deliver another batch of terrific songs -- as intelligent as they are melodic. Guided by producers Rod Argent (the Zombies, Argent) and Peter Van Hooke (Mike + the Mechanics), Shear and his crack four-piece band bring out both the charm and depth in the material, steering clear of the sort of production that has stamped a date on some of his recordings in the past. "Listen to What She Says," "A Bird in That Cage," and "Two Friends," thanks in part to Elliot Easton's infectious guitar lines, are as direct and engaging as Shear's pop/rock gets, while "Healing Bones," "Over the Lane," and "By and By" possess a beautiful sadness. Like the haunted suffering that pervades the title-cut -- a cryptic tale of a husband losing his wife in a freak plowing accident, that's able to transcend the story -- there's an underlying pensiveness that runs through the bulk of Healing Bones. This tone is even evident in some of the album's catchier moments, such as the mournful "A Prayer (For Those Not Here)," or the album's lone cover, the melancholy pop ofthe Walker Brothers' 1966 hit "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore." His last recording for a major label, as well as his last for nearly four years, Healing Bones can be added to Jules Shear's growing list of neglected gems.