The Hopeful and the Unafraid is Jason Anderson's third solo album since the dissolution of his indie pop act Wolf Colonel. The previous New England and The Wreath found Anderson reverting to the Elliott Smith-style singer/songwriter vibe of his earliest days, but The Hopeful and the Unafraid is something entirely different. Kicking off with the nearly eight-minute epic "El Paso," this album is aimed unapologetically at the new Bruce Springsteen vibe that sounds like what the Arcade Fire, Marah, and the Hold Steady have been flirting with, but in a far more overt way. They're mostly forgotten now, but in the wake of Springsteen's breakthrough success with 1975's Born to Run, a whole school of blue-collar singer/songwriters emerged, mostly from the industrial northeast, who were aiming for a similar blend of Bob Dylan and Roy Orbison: play The Hopeful and the Unafraid back to back with any late-'70s album by the likes of Robert Ellis Orrall, Steve Forbert, John Cougar Mellencamp, Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes or Elliott Murphy, and this defiantly retro collection of pop/rock tunes won't sound a bit out of place. From the honking saxophone that powers the bouncy title track, through the grandiose piano runs coloring "July 4, 2004," "The Half of It," and "Colonial Homes," and from the powerhouse FM-radio swagger of "Watch Your Step" to the teenage desperation of the novelistic, detail-stuffed "The Post Office," Anderson has written an entire album's worth of shameless, unabashed Bruce Springsteen homages/rip-offs. If nothing else, it's a moderately fascinating exercise in Rutles-ization, and there's no doubt that much of the album rocks quite hard in a refreshingly non-ironic way. It's hard not to hope that this is just a one-off experiment, because making a career as a Springsteen manqué didn't work for most of the guys listed above, either.
So earlier this week I posted a quick review of Jason Anderson’s The Hopeful & The Unafraid and here I am following-up with another post on the same album. I not only feel the need to share with you all another gorgeous song by Mr. Anderson (watch, I will post them all eventually!), but also want to prove that he is not just another Bruce Springsteen parody.“My latest obsession is a little un
More >
MP3: Jason Anderson - The Hopeful and the UnafraidNOTE: As the year winds down and we look back at the records we've come into, it's a good time to figure out what may have been missed. This week I will take you there, and over the weekend there will be 2 bonus posts of albums you probably didn't miss, but I'll talk about why I think they rule and maybe open a dialog. Fuck yeah!You know, I had ...
More >
Jason Anderson sounds to me like Bruce Springsteen...if Bruce was way too introspective. I guess Anderson has 'emo' tendencies, but his earnest songwriting and the way he names names and names places brings an instant authenticity to his songs, and make them more than palatable. Anderson is one of those artists that I will always keep an eye on. He wrote a song that I have probably listened to ...
More >
So earlier this week I posted a quick review of Jason Anderson’s The Hopeful & The Unafraid and here I am following-up with another post on the same album. I not only feel the need to share with you all another gorgeous song by Mr. Anderson (watch, I will post them all eventually!), but also want to prove that he is not just another Bruce Springsteen parody.“My latest obsession is a little un
More >
I must officially be a dirty, lazy hippie, because I can’t stop posting all this happy “love everyone” crap lately…but it’s all so good. I guess never-ending global conflict brings out the granola in us all.My latest obsession is a little unshaven man named Jason Anderson. His album The Hopeful and The Unafraid on K Records is on constant rotation for the last couple weeks. Not only a
More >
I used to frequent this site back in the day...was feeling nostalgiac and signed back up! Not sure if it will stick... There are points in every man's life where he must pause, assess where he is, and plan accordingly. Tonight was one of those nights. And the moment of truth came to me all at once and out of nowhere. It came as I was live blogging my local trick or treat night here in suburban ...
More >
Click to purchase…
© 2006-2009 Mog Inc. All Rights Reserved
 "The Hopeful and the Unafraid")
