Second solo release by this Canadian singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. You Know Me By Now is a warm mixture of ambient music, mostly unplugged, with slight symphonic progressive forays, but firmly rooted in the AOR format.
Jacks , a fairly accomplished musician, has worked primarily as a session man and a soundtrack composer; the latter being evident in the orchestration of the tracks on this disc.His Todd Rundgren meets Kim Mitchell vocal style acts as a great vehicle for the very introspective lyrics. Some tracks though, like the poignant China Dream about Chinese immigrants forced to work the most dangerous jobs during the building of Canada's national railway line, offer a certain biting social comment.
However, Mr Jacks is not alone on this project and honorable mentions should be given to his supporting cast; most notably Holly Burke for her sublime flute work on tracks like Film Star, You Know Me By Now , and Providence . This being said, it's really on the instrumental tracks such as the Anthony Phillips inspired To Michael Hedges and Neilishon 4 where his star shines the brightest.
This is one of those records which creeps up on you as the general feel of the disc is very subtle and subdued. It does suffer from certain weaker moments such as tracks like Innocent Love and This Tired Old Face where a more blatant radio friendly sound weighs the disc down .
Track Listing
- Providence (3:14)
- Film Star ( 7:02)
- Where Do You Think You're Heading Billy ? (4:19)
- Wintertime Blues (3:13)
- You Know Me By Now (4:26)
- No One Knows Their Names (3:14)
- To Michael Hedges (3:41)
- 9 In Essence(5:05)
- Innocent Love (2:43)
- This Tired Old Face (3:12)
- Neilishon 4 (3:20)
- The China Dream(3:06)
- Sure Shot Motors (3:28)
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