What do you do when you’re in your eighties and approaching the end of the line? You make your first album, which is exactly what Jim Sadler did. Jim is not only a cancer survivor…he’s a fighter and this album is a personal document from someone who has lived his life on his terms and now want to share his music. His fragility in his vocals is at odds with the strength of his acoustic guitar while the piano feels as if it is coming to us from a honky tonk joint. This folk blues album feels as if it is from another age, and if they had added a few crackles and not had his vocals quite as into the microphone as they are, one can imagine this being a long-lost recording from one hundred years ago as it has far more in common with the blues artists of that period than with what passes for much music in the modern age.
It does make one wonder just how many musicians have never recorded albums because they feel their playing, singing, or songs are just not good enough, and what the world has missed out on. While this is not an essential release it is certainly very enjoyable indeed and something I am glad I have heard, but how many more albums would Jim have released if he had been recognised thirty or forty years ago? All power to Jeremy Morris and JAM Recordings for making this available. If you enjoy stripped down folk blues music similar in style to an early Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, and John Prine then this may well be for you as it evokes a time gone by.
Rating: 6/10
Track list:
1. Karl’s Sonata 1:31
2. Purple Car 3:04
3. Blue Sky Blues 2:57
4. Free From Me 3:47
5. I’ll Play the Blues for You 3:06
6. Blues for You 2:04
7. Like a Cardinal 4:00
8. Old Age Is New 3:13
9. Black Camel 3:39
10. Going Home 2:49
11. Karl’s Sonata (Reprise) 3:03