For those of you who don’t know Jamie Williams, he has released fifteen albums to date,
Stay True being the latest. That’s some volume of work for someone who is still relatively
unknown outside of Essex. Nine of these albums are with the band which plays with him on
Stay True and are constantly gigging with him round Essex and the festival circuit.
He started writing in his UK Americana stylee in the early 2000’s, forming the Roots
Collective as a vehicle for his songs in 2010. The band comprises of Dave Milligan guitars,
keyboards, producer and arranger, Jake Milligan, bass and James Bacon, drums.
Different Gravy, Do What You Love, Live at The Hotbox and Move The Planet are but four of
his vast output since 1993, and all worth checking out.
Jamie plays a Fender Telecaster and Gretsch Electromatic played through a Fender Blues
Junior amp, and on the acoustic side of things, a Gibson guitar and a Crafter mandolin.
So, onto the album – Side one starts ultra psychedelic with I Don’t Know The Answers,
which takes me back to The Byrds, 8 Miles High and Love’s Forever Changes. Some nice
fluid bass playing locking the whole song down.
Next comes a David Lynch theme tune type of song in the shape of Bad Blood. I love a bit of
vibrato guitar, it sets the scene, which it does here nicely.
The pace drops with To Yourself, a heartfelt peon to being true to yourself, which is what I
find with Jamie all the way through his songs. He doesn’t put on airs and graces, he writes
and sings from his heart.
Love That’s True goes back into fifth gear with a song which wouldn’t sound out of place on
The Clash’s London Calling album, which is when they started embracing American rock n
roll, even though they had declared they were Bored with The USA on their first album.
A lovely slow souly kinda song comes next with I’m So Sorry I Could Cry, with Jamie’s voice
touching places and emotions a younger Steve Winwood did with Traffic. At the moment this
is my favourite track, but that could easily change. How can you single out a favourite among
12 great tracks.
Box Marked Fragile finishes off side one, if I was listening to it on vinyl, in which Jamie
confesses to his vulnerable side. It features some fabulous complimentary fragile guitar and
some cello hits you square on. Always a good instrument for pathos.
Then we hit side two, or track seven with some more rock n roll and School Of Hard Knocks,
which transports us again back to the 60’s complete with bontempi type organ, in the style of
Ray Manzerak. Then we hit a Santana kinda groove with D’You Ever Get The Feeling, with
some great Carlos style guitar work from Dave Milligan.
An acoustic led Live To Fight Another Day finds Jamie with his heart on his sleeve again,
featuring some subtle slide and harmonica playing from Dave and Jake Milligan respectively.
I don’t know if these two are related but I get the feeling they are, they compliment each
other so well on guitar and bass, plus other assorted instruments.
Then into a roadhouse blues barnstomper called Ride With Me, with just the right amount of
attitude and swagger, with James Bacon nailing it to the floor. I must say I have enjoyed the
drums throughout this album. Not over busy, not too cymbally, just grooving and filling where necessary, with a great sound, which is down to the production as much as the playing. They
have a sort of Steve Earle, The Hard Way circa type sound to them, which sits easily with
my ears.
And finally One World finishes the album with just Jamie on vocal and acoustic guitar,
singing about universal love and people coming together in the same way as John Lennon
did on Imagine, and in todays world it is a great message to put across. This is just one of
Jamie’ politically tinged songs, and I think they all work well because they are not about a
political time place or event, they are just saying how he feels about the world, which is why
they will stand the test of time.
All in all a great album, one I’ve listened to quite a few times, and hear new things all the
time. Jamie knows the music he likes and writes as such. He doesn’t want to be innovative
or come up with a new take on Americana, and why would he? He sits well within the pocket
of roots music and UK Americana and long may he do so.
If you are an Americana fan and wondering what to buy next, or who to check out next, I
would highly recommend you look into Jamie Williams and The Roots Collective, it’s a deep
well and you wont be disappointed.
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