Take a Listen: Seeing Things by Jakob Dylan

The Take a Listen posts will be another regular series that I hope you’ll read around here. Hopefully it will catalogue some things that are obscure, some that are popular, some that annoy you, and maybe even some that annoy me.

Jakob Dylan’s voice is imprinted in my head along with some very distinct songs from my teenage years. Most of those came from the album Bringing Down the Horse by the Wallflowers. Songs like The Difference and One Headlight are so catchy that right now, if a drummer appeared in my family room and started tapping out that distinctive beat from One Headlight, I could probably pick up my guitar and figure out at the very least the bass line to it. And sing along. Not at all as well as Jakob Dylan, but perhaps in line with his dad’s vocals.

So, anyway, when I heard that Jakob Dylan had a “solo” album out, I thought self, that’s worth a shot. My wife and I first listened to Seeing Things on the hour-long drive over a ridiculously windy mountain to her parents’ house. It was the perfect companion. I cannot express how quickly we were caught up in the music. It’s just downright good. A very moody album, varied musically (much folky-er than his work with The Wallflowers), it’s just plain dynamite.

So, here’s my endorsement: go check out Jakob Dylan. Punch his name in at Pandora.com and you’ll get a great playlist, plus you’ll probably get to hear some songs off of the album. If you’re as hooked as I am, you’ll be a buyer.