Yellow Dog Records artist: Eden Brent - Jigsaw Heart - New Release Review

I just received the newest release (May 6, 2014), Jigsaw Heart, from Eden Brent. This new release has a definite weight toward country music but remaining all Eden. The opening track, Better This Way is a solid ballad illustrating clearly why Eden is regarded so highly for her vocal skills. A slow, easy waltz paced ballad, it's a nice opener. Everybody Already Knows busts out with honky tonk pride, Brent swinging on piano as she hammers out cool piano riffs. Title track, Jigsaw Heart, has a definite country feel again in ballad rather than easy pop style. There is a definite class to her songs separating them from today's pop country efforts by other artists. Dan Dugmore add a nice easy steel guitar counter to Brent's vocals. Very nice and air bound. Opportunity has a gospel/R&B feel and is one of my favorites on the release. Brent gets into a super groove and really delivers vocals nicely against her own rhythm piano. Drums by Gary Craig bass by John Dymond and Colin Lind on guitar and with super vocal backing woven into the fabric of the track by Ann and Regina McCrary. Easy blues track with a gospel base, I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free features not only fine vocals but a slick slide guitar solo by Linden. Very nice. The Last Time has a distinctive country ballad feel. The clarity of Brent on piano contrasted against the sounds of Kenzie Wetz on fiddle create a nice environment for this subtle track. Panther Burn maintains a country sub feel with bouncy piano riffs and gospel/revival like vocals. Let's Go Ahead And Fall In Love has a definite southern delta blues feel. Brent really leads the way on keys and her vocals are tops. Chris Carmichael on viola and Dan Dugmore add to this New Orleans sound, woven together like a dixieland band. Cool track. Tendin' To A Broken Heart is a straightforward blues ballad. Brent has this style down to an absolute science and her vocal with piano accompaniment (and light drums) is superb. Locomotive has a train trestle rhythm and an open country delivery. You can tell that Brent is just having a pure ball with this release. Get The Hell Out Of Dodge is a quirky little rag tune with nice acoustic guitar accompaniment by Linden and fiddle by Wetz. He blues styling on vocal is really clean and warm. This track features one of the longer instrumental interludes on the release in a nice laid back format. Valentine is a simple heartfelt ballad to wrap the track. Charmichael on violin adds nice warmth to a simple backing of acoustic guitar by Linden and John Dymond on bass.

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 Not from this release but a good representation of Brent's style: