Marti Jones has an exceptional alto voice that rivals Linda Ronstadt's, but with a more organic feel. Her songwriting with husband Don Dixon is quality stuff, and the song selection of covers is first-rate. Dixon's production is perfect every time. Her interpretations of other songwriters material are spot-on every time.
Marti's first recording was a six-song EP by the pop-rock band Color Me Gone in 1984. The heartfelt pop vocals that would become her trademark are already on display, but the band never took off.
Marti's first solo record was produced by Don Dixon, as were all of her subsequent records. They married not long after the record was made. Unsophisticated Time 1985 is a fine start. Walk Away, Follow You All Over The World, Hiding The Boy, The Element Within Her are all standouts. The record has a slightly more folk feel than later releases, but it's all here, even on the debut. The voice, the songs, the arrangements.
A&M and Dixon pulled out all the stops for Match Game in 1986. A big-budget recording with great players and guest stars, songs from Dwight Twilly, Elvis Costello, David Bowie and Paul Rogers along with Dixon's finest, but nothing detracts from Marti. Her voice is clear and beautiful, and Inside These Arms, We're Doing Alright, Just A Memory, Soul Love and Be Myself Again are all top notch. I love the big rock sound of the record- it's the only time they did one like this, and it's a fine setting for her voice.
Next it was 1988's Used Guitars. Dixon and Jones' Tourist Town starts things off swinging. John Hiatt's The Real One rocks like Rondstadt never could, while Graham Parker's You Can't Take Love For Granted gets a highly percussive arrangement from Dixon that's fun and just right. Jackie DeShannon's Each Time and Hiatt's If I Can Love Somebody are both terrific readings of fine songs. That this record didn't turn her into a star is almost impossible to believe. A similar blend of folk, rock and pop tunesmith worked great for Shawn Colvin and Mary Chapin Carpenter.
In 1990 it was off to RCA for Any Kind Of Lie, another fine outing, this time featuring the songs Dixon and Jones were writing together. The core band of Jamie Hoover (guitar), Dixon (bass and lots of stuff), Jones (guitar), Jim Brock (percussion extraordinaire), and Denny Fongheiser (drums) show off great Dixon-Jones songs Living Inside The Wind, Any Kind Of Lie, My Tears Are Poison, Read My Heart and Is This The Game? Again, there just seemed to be no market for the kind of intelligent pop-rock craft on display, but I'll be darned if I could tell you why. The bizarre hair and make-up of the cover (aimed squarely at the burgeoning Adult Contemporary market) may have frightened off any fan that had seen the wonderfully unassuming Marti live.
After that one also did not bring stardom, Marti decided to take a few years off and have a baby. She returned in 1996 with My Long-Haired Life, a reference to her shorter, motherly locks of the previous few years. It's another fabulous record. Focusing on a generous selection of covers, her brilliant interpretations of Nick Lowe's I Love The Sound Of Breaking Glass, Squeeze's Black Coffee In Bed, Aimee Mann's Put Me On Top, and Elvis Costello's Sleep Of The Just are all super. Her own It's Not What I Want and several other by Marti and Don are just as good.
Also in 1996, Live At Spirit Square was released. This might be my favorite live record ever. Recorded in 1990 in Charlotte to a Dixon home-town crowd, the song selection is an impeccable greatest hits plus best songs from her catalog, even while it features Any Kind Of Lie, the new release of the time. The sound is excellent. The band of Jones on acoustic guitar, Dixon on bass and vocals, Jamie Hoover on lead guitar and vocals (one of the best, and most fun to watch, guitarists on the planet), Jim Brock on percussion, and Tom Wilhelm on drums is the tightest band ever. Really. Ever. The different texture of each song is voiced in the arrangements and playing in a way that is remarkable. You really should hear it if you have any interest in a fine female voice and great songwriting in combination.
In 2002 came My Tidy Doily Dream. Another fine record, this one features new songs by Dixon and Jones with several guest writing partners. Compared to the her previous work, this one is pretty mellow, but not the worse for it. You just need to adjust to a more delicate sound, sort of like recent Kim Richey or Aimee Mann records. Always, Innocent Kiss, Slave, and So Lonesome I Could Fly are standouts. There are a few too many slow ballads among the rest of the songs for it to be my favorite, but when I'm in the mood for introspection...
In 2008 Don and Marti released Lucky Stars: Lullabies For Old Souls as a download only under both of their names. A mixture of some nice new songs and quite a few instrumental themes, it works as the piece of art-folk it is. Gentile folk songs inspired by love and family, it's a bit twee occasionally, but it also includes some fine moments in Lucky Stars, When I Saw You, and Watching Closely.
2011 brought another Marti Jones and Don Dixon release, Living Stereo.
Unlike the previous Lucky Stars, this one is a proper CD release, and
for the first time ever, a proper duets record for Don & Marti. It's
just a load of fun. Feels Like 1972 gets a big production from Don,
That Scorching Song has fantastic harmonies, and Trouble Is As Trouble
Does features the amazing Mr. Brock's percussion. It's mostly a folky
record, but they do it so well. Hanging My Laundry, Walk Outside, and
Why, Why, Why all display special qualities. And then there's Marti's
reading of These Arms Of Mine, and she just nails it with beauty and
reverence.
Out of the blue in 2014, Marti released
You're Not The Bossa Me. I certainly didn't see a bossa nova record coming, but it is a delight. A particularly skilled bunch of songwriters include Paul Cebar, Kelley Ryan, Don Dixon, Bill DeMain (Swan Dive), Amy Rigby (who Marti toured with in 2006 as the Cynical Girls), and Bill Lloyd, all of whom contribute fine songs just made for the bossa approach. Marti sings everything in a relaxed, sometimes breathy style that is perfect. Jon Thorton's trumpet and flugelhorn add an authentic element, and enhance the efforts of the core band of Dixon, Ryan, Cebar, and percussionist extraordinaire Jim Brock. Song highlights include DeMain and Rigby's hilarious Keep It To Yourself and Dixon and Cathy Smith-Bowers' How I Became An Existentialist, but everything works.
I've seen Marti and Don many times live in Cleveland (they live in Marti's NE Ohio hometown), usually with Hoover and Brock rounding out the band, and they are always excellent live. Marti has apparently retired to paint, but if they ever come around, you'll have a good time and see a fine show. You can't go wrong with Used Guitars, Any Kind Of Lie, My Long-Haired Life or Live At Spirit Square. Pick one up- you're in for a treat.
A new Cassandra Wilson release is always exciting news. Wilson has been recording since 1985 and has made some of the finest modern jazz records you can find. She got her start with the M-Base collective in New York, an avant-garde jazz-funk group that featured saxophonist Steve Coleman, among others. She has a deep, throaty voice that is both sultry and expressive. Her phrasing and control are stellar. She writes some great tunes, and her covers are always unique and thoughtful, often surprising reinterpretations.
