JONATHAN WILSON

Gentle Spirit

2012-01-05

Jonathan Wilson is the most influential musician you've never heard of. He rekindled the Laurel Canyon Scene in California. Legendary jam sessions at his home studio in the canyon enlisted musicians from disparate decades and genres. The jams included members of Black Crowes, Heartbreakers, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Van Morrison's band, The Cars, Bruce Springsteen's band, Steve Miller's Band, and Pearl Jam. Wilson has produced and collaborated with young artists and legends alike - Dawes, Roy Harper, Erykah Badu, Jackson Brown, Robbie Robertson and Elvis Costello. “Gentle Spirit” was a side project between producing jobs and other gigs. After it simmered and stewed in the canyon, the album was finalized at Wilson's new studio in Echo Park, Los Angeles. The album is resplendent and majestically stoned; an amalgam of Crazy Horse, CSNY and Pink Floyd. Wilson's “dreary day in the canyon” sound is ambitious, psychedelic and folky; draped on the bones of a jam band ethos. The unapologetically hippie album nearly has to be heard to appreciate, but highlights include “Gentle Spirit,” “Ballad of the Pines,” and “Valley of the Silver Moon.” Check out the psychedelic take on Gordon Lightfoot's “The Way I Feel.” Reviewed by Todd Townsend.

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• Songs of Jonathan Wilson