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Nearly a month ago, Texas by way of Mississippi singer-songwriter Jason Eady announced I Travel On, his seventh studio album, along with lead single the laidback country-groover "Calaveras County." Now, the Fort Worth-based Eady has shared the second song from the all-acoustic album, the smoldering blues storyteller "Always a Woman."
Built around a repetitive single chord, Eady's "Always a Woman" occupies a shadowy and dark country territory. Still, it's brimming with blues accents such as sultry dobro and the tone-setting warble of a grim fiddle that drones on in the background. It cuts through a smoke-filled room of "Always a Woman" with a fine, clean ease. Eady's rich baritone plays nicely over the darkened and weighty soundscape.
"So next I'm feeling sorry for myself, I hope I understand there's only one thing between the devil and a good man. It's always a woman," sings Eady on the intimate storyteller. It finds Eady at the end of the bar after a long, difficult fight with his significant other. He's there confiding his sorrows through the end of an empty glass when he's approached by a fellow patron offering up sage advice and a clever hook.
After releasing the critically acclaimed album Jason Eady just a year ago, he decided to change things around this go around. For the first time, Eady was joined by his sharp touring band—Kevin Foster, Giovanni Carnuccio and Naj Conklin—along with Grammy-nominated musicians Trey Hensley and Rob Ickes and Eady's wife, singer-songwriter Courtney Patton (who also released the excellent What It's Like To Fly Alone earlier this year). In addition, the cast only used acoustic instruments as well as taking a single-take approach to recording the 11-track I Travel On.
Read More: Jason Eady to Release New Record 'I Travel On'
That live session philosophy understandably sets the tone for the entire album and creates a natural, free-flowing easiness. There's a powerful organic rush that permeates through songs and creates a looser and more laidback feel. Additionally, Eady wrote the vast majority of I Travel On in a month-long burst of creativity.
"One of the best things about making this album is that it was all done live—just six guys with acoustic instruments sitting in a room together, playing these songs we'd been working out for a while on the road," says Eady in a press release.
The new album is void of punch-ins and multiple takes as well. In many respects, it feels as though Eady and company set up camp in your living room to play I Travel On. While there's certainly careful attention to detail, it doesn't still feel as through Eady and company are bogged down by trying to capture flawless takes. There's an effortless spontaneity that guides Eady and company throughout that just feels natural for all involved.
I Travel On will be released August 10. Eady will tour throughout the rest of 2018 in support of the album.
'I Travel On' Track List:
1) "I Lost My Mind in Carolina"
2) "Now or Never"
3) "Happy Man"
4) "Calaveras County
5) "Always a Woman"
6) "That's Alright"
7) "Below the Waterline"
8) "Pretty When I Die"
9) "She Had to Run"
10) "The Climb"
11) "I Travel On"
