Jonatha Brooke Steady Pull 2001

Jonatha Brooke has had an interesting career in pop-folk-rock-singer-songwriter territory, and while never quite breaking huge, she's continued to make good records and perform fine shows. She started off in a band called The Story with fellow singer Jenifer Kimball, and that band made pretty good folk-pop. I always thought Angel In The House, their 1993 swansong, was a good record, with some outstanding songs. But Brooke has matured in both writing and singing, and has made some recent records that defy categories and are delightful. My favorite is Steady Pull.

 





This record rocks. If you want to hear a typically more mild-mannered artist cranked up to rocking, here you go. Bob Clearmoutain (Bryan Adams, Rolling Stones, Hall & Oates) produced, and the band is a highly skilled set of studio pros (and maybe some of Brooke's touring band). And that does not mean that they sound like Toto. They cook. The songs are killer, and mostly a little less dark than some of her records. It's like Jonatha Brooke on beach steroids. I often think of Aimee Mann as too laid back, but not on I'm With Stupid, she rocked that one. This is Jonatha Brooke's I'm With Stupid.


There's so many good songs- Linger, Red Dress, How Deep Is Your Love?, Room In My Heart, New Dress, Steady Pull- really, almost everything, that there's no reason to go over the details. If you like Jonatha Brooke, and you haven't heard this, you must hear it. If you've never heard of Jonatha Brooke, this is a great place to start. If you like smart female singer-songwriters with a tough edge and a feminine core, you can't go wrong.