ARTIST - JUST BLUE

CD – BELOW THE DAMAGE

GENERA – Acoustic, Folk

LABEL – CHERRY TONIC MUSIC

RELEASE DATE – January, 2009.

SOUNDS LIKE – Natalie Merchant, Indigo Girls, Janis Ian, Alannah Myles

DEFINING MOMENTS – All Right by me, Original Sin, Just for one day

STRENGTH – Earthy Consistency, Conservative Musical Delivery, Honest, Wise, & Bold writing style

WEAKNESS – Dry production, lacks musical depth and dynamic, Repetitious  

KATAVI RATING - 4 out of 7 masks

Just Blue releases their debut CD in January 2009. Just Blue is a male-female duo consisting of Melissa Barelmann (vocals) And Chad Fagg (guitar & backing vocals). This 2 piece musical tandem hails from Melbourne Florida, and delivers an earthy type of acoustical statement that is simple, pure, and deeply honest.

The CD starts off with “Paper Bags” a melancholy piece about a relationship that somewhere along the way lost it's luster and became sour . Track 2 “Leave Tonight ” is a deeply honest assessment about a relationship hanging on by a thread. Right from the beginning, Barelmann’s folksy-type vocal style will remind you a lot of Natalie Merchant with a slight southern draw to it. The music itself is a bare bones musical production with an acoustic guitar and voice in the forefront. Overall it reminds me of 10,000 Maniacs unplugged, with maybe a hint of Indigo Girls. Track 3 “All Right by Me” is a more upbeat piece that is wise as much as it is carefree. One of my favorite lines on the CD is in this song “I found Jesus, he was counting his pennies in the bottom of a wishing well, and I wished him well.” Nice touch there! Most of these songs are sung from a deeply honest perspective, giving a very grim assessment of relationships, and love turned lukewarm. Other songs deliver deep, thought provoking  wisdom reminiscent of Janis Ian, and Janis Joplin. Track 4 “Original Sin” is a powerful piece which is cut from the same cloth as Billy Joel’ “She’s Always a Woman to Me” with lyrics that go – “Look you in the eye, and drink from her veins, even holy water can’t wash her stain.”  This CD is also defiant. Track 6 “Better off Alone.” Here  Barrrelmann dishes out a more sassy, country blues vocal-type delivery reminiscent of Alannah Myles or even Wynona Judd. This piece probably pushes harder than any other song on the CD. Fagg’s guitar playing is solid, conservative, and fills the room like a candle. His background vocal accents are well placed and effective. From songs that aren’t afraid to tell the truth like “Below the Damage” and the “Truth Is” to songs that offer up conventional wisdom like “Shine (Giving It Up)”, and "The Next Time You Dance", at over 53 minutes in length this CD is fully loaded. The songs are consistent, solid, and well crafted. Most are sung  from a perspective that is somewhat desperate, yet positive. I would have to say my favorite song overall is a toss up between “Better off Alone”  and “Just for one Day.” Just for one Day" is a rock solid number with a nice musical build, and a chorus that is extremely impressive. I can’t help but wonder what some of these songs would sound like with other musical elements applied to them.  The CD ends with “Happy Hour” and upbeat piece that attempts to paint a happy face on a stark reality - "Lying in bed, waiting for the stars to shine, I guess it's true, I'm coming unglued." It's a microcosm of sorts of what Just Blue is. Painfully honest, even in self reflection. 

Though  Melissa Barelmann’s voice is above the bar, it’s nothing legendary. Throughout most of the CD she plays it safe, and avoids taking risks that would showcase a strong, confident vocal ability. Earthy type productions such as these create ample opportunities for these kinds of moments for both musicians and singers out there to show what they are capable of. When done right - will blow you right out of your chair, or take your breath away. When not done right - will sound empty and repetitive. No doubt more work is required from a duo to fill this sonic space effectively, thus keeping the attention span of the listener during those (pin drop) moments. There are risks you take when delivering a bare bones musical performance such as this. You better hold your own well while the musical spotlight is yours. Just Blue pretty much elects to plays it safe throughout the entire CD, and unfortunately neglects to push the emotional envelope hard. Because of this some of the songs lack heart-stopping emotion, and thus fail to build like great songs often do. More musical depth is often needed to compensate, and fill these gaps. Again I can’t help but wonder what some of these songs would sound like with other musical elements behind them. Instruments such as a pedal steel, mandolin, fiddles, viola, stand up bass, cello, piano, banjo, percussion, whirly bells, celeste and even a saw would add a much needed musical dimension. Due to lack of musical depth the production goes down extremely dry. Some of the songs are a bit winded and drawn out. The pieces that are over 4 minutes in length will drag you to the finish line, even at a coffee house. Again it takes an amazing amount of talent and skill to deliver a bare bones musical production properly. Hats off to Just Blue for taking this on, but in the end of the day, this CD just sounds like it's missing something.

Overall Below the Damage is an impressive musical production. It’s strong suit is it’s overall consistency, lyrical wisdom, and bold straightforwardness. Make no bones about it folks; It took raw honesty to write some of these songs. What I like most about Just Blue is there is no attempt to sugar coat the truth. I really admire artists out there who are themselves and just let the chips fall where they may. Praise goes out to the artist that can show us something real and genuine beneath their veil of vanity. Just Blue is one of those artists. Be advised you may not want to listen to Just Blue on the night your wife leaves you, but if you like melancholy music that provides a very real assessment of the human condition then you should jump into the CD head first. Just Blue will work best on days you want a delicate acoustic sound to filling your atmosphere. If I could say anything to Melissa and Chad right now it would be - add a bit more musical flavor to your next production. This can be done without losing the solitary musical foundation. You've also proven how effective you are at staying in the pocket during slow parts, but don't be afraid to exit that comfort zone, and really push that emotional envelope during some of your other parts. The real selling point for any song is the (singer to listener) emotional delivery. Here experienced artists will execute and make this connection. It cannot be faked and has to be totally genuine. At the end of the day people don't buy plastic and paper, they buy emotions. Trim up some of your songs a bit, but whatever you do, don’t stop telling us all what the “Truth Is”……….because that's what Just Blue does the best.    

My overall rating - 4 out of 7 masks.
 

Cyrus Rhodes - 5/30/09

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