2014 - Island Records
By Phillip Smith;
May 10, 2014
Although I didn’t venture out
twenty-five miles to the nearest record store on Record Store Day this year, I did manage to find the RSD release of Jake Bugg’s four-track EP Live
at Silver Platters disc on eBay. Bugg beautifully performs each of his songs
solo and acoustically, pulling one piece from his first and self-titled album,
and two from his Shrangri La album. This stripped-down performance offers yet
another glimpse into how deep his well of talent goes.
The first thing that pops
into my mind when “There’s a Beast and We All Feed It” plays, is uncanny
observation of just how much Bugg
reminds me of a young Bob Dylan
tearing through “Subterranean Homesick Blues”.
If this is what he sounds like at twenty years old, I have a feeling we
are in store for an explosion of great music in the future from this troubadour.
“Storm Passes Away”, also from his Shangri La album, is about trying to
piece a relationship back together. This
one is very reminiscent of classic Hank
Williams, both in song styling and performance.
Bugg seems
to draw inspiration from Paul Simon
on “Lightning Bolt”, a magically fast-tempo song with quick rhyming lyrics
laced with hints of blues and classic country. It’s so amazing how rich this
song sounds, I quickly forget this is just one man and his guitar.
Live at Silver Platters , Seattle WA, January 20, 2014,
really has a lot going on for just
being a four track live EP. The only
drawback is that it leaves me wanting more.
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