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Draw Them Near

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Draw Them Near
Studio album by
Jess Klein
ReleasedAugust 22, 2000[1]
StudioAlex the Great
GenreFolk-pop
Length43:01
Label
ProducerGeorge Howard
Jess Klein chronology
Wishes Well Disguised
(1998) 		Draw Them Near
(2000) 		Flattery
(2003)

Draw Them Near is an album by the American musician Jess Klein, released in 2000.[2] She supported it with a North American tour.[3] Klein also participated in the Voices on the Verge tour.[4] Draw Them Near was nominated for "Indie Album of the Year" at the Boston Music Awards.[5] It was a minor hit on adult album alternative radio stations.[6]

Production

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Recorded at Alex the Great, in Nashville, the album was produced by George Howard, the president of Rykodisc.[7][8] It was mixed by Paul Q. Kolderie.[9] The musicians listened to the guitar playing of Mick Taylor during the recording sessions, appreciating the soulfulness of his style.[8] Ken Coomer played drums on the tracks; Will Kimbrough played guitar.[10] Klein considered her melodies and the music to be as important as her lyrics.[11] The majority of the songs are about difficult relationships.[12]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[13]
Calgary Sun4/5[14]
The Press of Atlantic City[15]
USA Today[16]

The Toronto Star called the album "a listenable blend of folk, country and rock."[17] The New York Daily News noted that "Little White Dove" "sounds like Rod Stewart in his folksy 'Mandolin Wind' period."[18] USA Today determined that Klein's "candy-coated voice has a sweet vulnerability, yet she avoids puppy-love confections, instead conveying plenty of wisdom and grown-up heartache in lyrics that are assertive but not strident, passionate but not melodramatic."[16] Greil Marcus, in Interview, wrote that "the bigger the arrangement ... the more like an impostor she seems, and it's as an impostor that she's a real pop singer... You hear frustration, anonymity, someone you have to get to know before you realize how easy it is to look at her face. With all that, she seems to crawl into her own songs, not sell them."[19]

The Press of Atlantic City said that "Klein is a folkie at heart, but her blood also flows with in-your-face rock, rhythm and blues and Memphis soul."[15] The Providence Journal opined that "the pace of her songs laid back doesn't change enough, and too many times Klein isn't engaging, she's whining."[20] The Calgary Sun stated that "Klein is an astonishingly poetic songwriter."[14] The Record included Draw Them Near on its list of the best albums of 2000.[21]

Track listing

[edit]
Draw Them Near track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Little White Dove"3:58
2."Goodbye, Goodbye"3:13
3."Ireland"3:47
4."Cloud Song"3:57
5."Love Is Where You Find It"3:19
6."Song for an Angel"3:42
7."I Tried"4:28
8."I Sure Would"2:29
9."Springtime"3:38
10."Open Me"2:57
11."I'll Be Alright"4:30
12."Draw Them Near"3:03
Total length:43:01

References

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  1. ^ Hay Carla (July 8, 2000). "Jess Is More". Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 28. p. 18.
  2. ^ Ochs, Meredith (November 2000). "Best New Music". CMJ New Music Monthly. No. 87. p. 21.
  3. ^ Larcen, Donna (August 3, 2000). "Draw Them Near Jess Klein". Calendar. Hartford Courant. p. 6.
  4. ^ Taylor, Lewis (February 1, 2002). "Finding strength in numbers". The Register-Guard. p. 2T.
  5. ^ McLennan, Scott (February 9, 2001). "Up for indie album of the year...". Telegram & Gazette. p. C3.
  6. ^ Sinkevics, John (November 18, 2001). "Singer-songwriter steps up to the plate". The Grand Rapids Press. p. E7.
  7. ^ McGuinness, Jim (January 5, 2001). "Folk Singer Found the Gift of Lightness". Lifestyle/Previews. The Record. Bergen County. p. 13.
  8. ^ a b Bessman, Jim (August 5, 2000). "Indie artist Jess Klein debuts on Rykodisc". Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 32. pp. 13, 99.
  9. ^ Craft, Dan (May 17, 2001). "Jamaica put the music in Klein's life". The Pantagraph. Bloomington, Illinois. p. D6.
  10. ^ Anderman, Joan (August 25, 2000). "Songwriter Jess Klein Steps Forward". The Boston Globe. p. C15.
  11. ^ Moon, Tom (October 20, 2000). "Jess Klein". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. W19.
  12. ^ Gewertz, Daniel (October 13, 2000). "Folk/Blues: 'Draw Them Near' takes Hub's Klein far". Boston Herald. p. S24.
  13. ^ "Draw Them Near Review by Zac Johnson". AllMusic. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  14. ^ a b Wilton, Lisa (August 20, 2000). "Draw Them Near Jess Klein". Calgary Sun. p. M17.
  15. ^ a b McAleer, Pete (August 25, 2000). "Sounding Board". At the Shore. The Press of Atlantic City. p. 36.
  16. ^ a b Gundersen, Edna (September 5, 2000). "Pop/rock". USA Today. p. D5.
  17. ^ Wagner, Vit (August 19, 2000). "Draw Them Near". Toronto Star. p. AR12.
  18. ^ Farber, Jim (August 13, 2000). "The sensitivity of folk-rock and the hooks of power pop...". Showtime. Daily News. New York. p. 12.
  19. ^ Marcus, Greil (October 2000). "Days Between Stations". Interview. Vol. 30, no. 10. p. 194.
  20. ^ Watson, Vaughn (August 24, 2000). "Music Scene". The Providence Journal. p. L3.
  21. ^ Barclay, Michael (December 28, 2000). "Don't let these discs of 2000 slip through the cracks". The Record. Kitchener. p. D6.
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