Lynn Jackson

A little over six months ago, I reviewed Lynn Jackson’s last album, The Acoustic Sessions, an intimate and faithful duo set with Chris Boyne. Songs Of Rain, Snow And Remembering is ostensibly a solo record, and as such retains the close intimacy of its predecessor, while giving an additional impression of delicate lushness that emanates largely from the creative deployment of her backing musicians Arun Paul (piano, percussion), Nick Storring (cello), Joe Dunn (guitar), Brent Hagerman (electric guitar), Chris Boyne (harmonium, also duet vocal on Riding Out The Storm) and Scott Fitzpatrick (bass), with whom Lynn evidently has a close artistic rapport. As indeed she has with the album’s producer, Norman Blake (of Teenage Fanclub).

One might find it hard to understand why Lynn’s not better known, for the quality of her singing voice is evident from the first note - its melodic expressiveness, its assured line and her total identity with her songs. This is as it should be, for the album consists almost entirely of Lynn’s own material: confessional songs of an understated power that don’t exclude the listener from her thought-processes and yet don’t insist that the listener takes every step of the journey. Her stories and feelings are unfolded at a leisurely pace, allowing the images and phrases to determine both the musical flow and direction, and the often interesting texturings which the aforementioned musical collaborators can bring to the table.

The use of piano and cello in particular is something of a departure for Lynn, and those timbres suit her songs well, while the unwavering, bold and confident electric guitar embellishments on a small handful of songs are both accommodating and stirring.

The one exception to the self-penned menu is a solid cover of Townes Van Zandt’s Rake, which fits comfortably within the context of her own songs. It’s a very consistent set, even-toned almost to a fault in fact, for there’s surprisingly little variation in tempo or mood: everything is at a uniform slow-medium pace. Haunting though this can be for the space of a few songs, it’s more difficult to maintain attention over the total span of the disc, and only the occasional incorporation of some more animated percussion or cello rhythms (on tracks like Mine Alone and Winter Sun) are found to provide the necessary relief and momentum. So maybe I’ve answered my own question. - Fatea, UK

Lynn Jackson has made a bona fide country-roots album. And though the genre is still waiting for its revival, Jackson's second album makes a good case for it. Her writing on Sweet Relief is so personal that the disc should be called Sweet Release instead.
The Kitchener, ON resident warbles about empty days, nostalgic relationships and looking for direction, covering Leonard Cohen's Tower of Song along the way. Her voice is delicate but never falters, fusing with bluegrass instruments like mandolins, vibraslaps, glass and organs. Jackson even manages to pull off jazzy-blues on standout Gone for Good.
Sweet Relief won't make you love country if you don't already. But Jackson's delicate, soothing voice, paired with the hypnotizing grace of her acoustic guitar and the sorrowful accompaniment of harmonicas and organs is compelling. The country revival may be closer than you think.
- Shameless Magazine

Singer-songwriter Lynn Jackson has a voice that could charm the birds out of the trees -- a honey-sweet, countryish vocal style that swaggers jauntily through her uptempo numbers and skulks beautifully across her slower, more laidback numbers.
On songs like "Gone for Good," the Canadian manages to give that kind of life-affirming quality to a song that her fellow countrywomen Joni Mitchell and kd lang have in spades. "Big Mistake" is a snaking, bluesy romp through treated harmonica and electric guitar swampland. An admonition to a lover, the song shows the extent of Jackson's range as a singer and writer.
"You Say," "The End" and "Forecast" are more introspective, thoughtful compositions. Her voice, by turns husky and angelic, reveals its ability to turn from fragile to robust in a few bars.
The title track is a classic country song about loss and regret, and Dan Walsh's dobro gives the song a timeless feel. The only non-Jackson composition on the record is Leonard Cohen's "Tower of Song," and her reading is a good one. Investing the song with a lively femininity, she sashays her way though the corridors of the tower with the lightfooted gait of a barefoot nubile. The arrangement is beautiful and she manages to pull off the feat of making the song her own. Quite an achievement.

Overall, Sweet Relief is a beautiful collection of songs by Jackson and her band. There is much chemistry at work here, and we should be hearing a lot more about her in the future. - www.rambles.net/jackson_sweet05.html

Singer-songwriter Lynn Jackson has a voice that could charm the birds out of the trees -- a honey-sweet, countryish vocal style that swaggers jauntily through her uptempo numbers and skulks beautifully across her slower, more laidback numbers.
On songs like "Gone for Good," the Canadian manages to give that kind of life-affirming quality to a song that her fellow countrywomen Joni Mitchell and kd lang have in spades. "Big Mistake" is a snaking, bluesy romp through treated harmonica and electric guitar swampland. An admonition to a lover, the song shows the extent of Jackson's range as a singer and writer.
"You Say," "The End" and "Forecast" are more introspective, thoughtful compositions. Her voice, by turns husky and angelic, reveals its ability to turn from fragile to robust in a few bars.
The title track is a classic country song about loss and regret, and Dan Walsh's dobro gives the song a timeless feel. The only non-Jackson composition on the record is Leonard Cohen's "Tower of Song," and her reading is a good one. Investing the song with a lively femininity, she sashays her way though the corridors of the tower with the lightfooted gait of a barefoot nubile. The arrangement is beautiful and she manages to pull off the feat of making the song her own. Quite an achievement.

Overall, Sweet Relief is a beautiful collection of songs by Jackson and her band. There is much chemistry at work here, and we should be hearing a lot more about her in the future. - www.rambles.net/jackson_sweet05.html

Laidback collection marked throughout by an air of elegant simplicity. Recorded “in a cozy little shack on Lake Erie,” such graceful austerity lends itself well to Jackson’s particular hybrid of folk/country/blues. Co-produced with renowned multi-instrumentalist Dan Walsh (Fred J. Eaglesmith), Sweet Relief’s straightforward arrangements provide the ideal setting for Jackson’s similarly unpretentious lyrics and lilting vocals. Word and voice come together particularly well on the elegiac ballad “The End,” written for the late Matt Osborne, as well as on “Raining on Our House,” a plaintive tale of a broken spirit. And, though Jackson’s higher-register voice sometimes seems at odds with some of the blues-ier fare on offer, it is well-suited to the upbeat country rock treatment given Leonard Cohen’s “Tower Of Song” and the sweet country lament of “Forecast.” For his part, Walsh offers effective musical accompaniment on every song here, whether playing guitar, dobro or drums (to name a few). Canadian folk legend Willie P. Bennett also appears on seven of Sweet Relief’s 11 tracks — his harmonica and mandolin playing adding timely atmospheric touches throughout this understated gem. - Exclaim Magazine

The heart of the sophomore effort from this Ontario songwriter is the spare poetic mood-songs and a whistful whispery voice that conveys a palette of emotion from longing and regret to freedom and nostalgia. But, the soul of the CDis the first-rate tasteful production by Jackson and Dan Walsh: A perfectly-executed romp from country to rockabilly to jump blues. Fred Eaglesmith band members, Walsh, Willie P. Bennett and Luke Stackhouse contribute to well-crafted arrangements, drawing the listener into the moody, spare songs. - Sing Out Magazine Fall 2006

Laidback collection marked throughout by an air of elegant simplicity. Recorded “in a cozy little shack on Lake Erie,” such graceful austerity lends itself well to Jackson’s particular hybrid of folk/country/blues. Co-produced with renowned multi-instrumentalist Dan Walsh (Fred J. Eaglesmith), Sweet Relief’s straightforward arrangements provide the ideal setting for Jackson’s similarly unpretentious lyrics and lilting vocals. Word and voice come together particularly well on the elegiac ballad “The End,” written for the late Matt Osborne, as well as on “Raining on Our House,” a plaintive tale of a broken spirit. And, though Jackson’s higher-register voice sometimes seems at odds with some of the blues-ier fare on offer, it is well-suited to the upbeat country rock treatment given Leonard Cohen’s “Tower Of Song” and the sweet country lament of “Forecast.” For his part, Walsh offers effective musical accompaniment on every song here, whether playing guitar, dobro or drums (to name a few). Canadian folk legend Willie P. Bennett also appears on seven of Sweet Relief’s 11 tracks — his harmonica and mandolin playing adding timely atmospheric touches throughout this understated gem. - Exclaim Magazine

visit www.lynnjackson.net and click on 'press' to view all of lynn's press ! - lynn

Canadian singer/songwriter Lynn Jackson's catalog has deep Americana roots, in the very best way that tag implies. On the surface, 2010's Comin' Down seemed to deviate from her previous offerings as it delved into rock, funk, klezmer, and even jazz. But a deeper listen revealed that Jackson's holistic approach didn't stray from her chosen methodology so much as expand her musical palette. Her sixth album, Down in the Dust, benefits from the previous exercise; that experimentation only tightened her writing skills. Americana is the predominant genre on this 12-song collection, but not the only one. At the heart of everything is that voice, which expertly walks a knife's edge between vulnerability and steely determination. Soft and smoky, it doesn't need to shout or wail to get the poetry in her lyrics across. The broken relationship at the heart of "Paper Airplanes" is colored by layers of insistent acoustic guitars; a whining pedal steel accents the loneliness in the tune's grain. "Truth I Know" is an honest country waltz, embellished not only by pedal steel, but beautifully placed organ and electric piano. Jackson's protagonist exhorts a lover to let his sadness go before it takes root between them. "Like Gypsies" is a solid rave-up rocker with a leathery, tough lyric and a killer reggae bassline break. "Miss Sinaloa" is inspired by journalistic accounts of Ciudad, Juarez, and a drug war that has implications far beyond Mexico. But the song is about human beings: the woman whose nickname the song is titled for and a promising young man are abducted by a cartel and made to disappear. The minor-key, Tex-Mex-tinged melody and poignant cello and guitar flourishes create a new kind of narcocorrido. "Spare a Little Rain" is an intimate, aching, jazzy acoustic ballad with acoustic guitars, upright bassline, hand percussion, and an electric piano that underscores the lyric's reflection. Jackson's final two numbers, "Echo" and the closing title track (they are separated by a fine cover of Josh Ritter's "Lawrence, KS"), are both love songs. In the former, amid fingerpicked acoustic guitars and the ever-present pedal steel, her protagonist gives thanks for the love provided her in the face of darkness and doubt. In the latter, assurance, commitment, and devotion are offered to her beloved in the face of life's confusion, grit, and messiness, with a weathered yet beautiful harmony vocal by guitarist Chris Boyne. Its well-worn but open-hearted truth sends the set off tenderly and resiliently. Jackson is an excellent narrative songwriter; she tells stories that the listener can climb inside and inhabit for as long as she wishes, and is haunted by them long after the recording ends. Down in the Dust is full of such moments. While we should expect nothing less from an artist of her caliber, it would be wrong to expect more, because here, she has already given us everything. - www.AllMusic.com

Kitchener singer/songwriter’s retrospective her best album yet
Waterloo Region Record
By Robert Reid

Lynn Jackson and Chris Boyne
Related Stories
Lynn Jackson strips down her sound

The Acoustic Sessions (Busted Flat Records)

After releasing six albums since 2004, Kitchener-based singer/songwriter Lynn Jackson decided it was time for a retrospective. "The Acoustic Sessions" offers 13 "favourite" songs gleaned from her catalogue.

Although all the tracks were written or co-written by Jackson, who sings lead vocals and plays acoustic guitar, the album is a collaborative project with regular concert mate Chris Boyne, who gets co-billing. In addition to contributing acoustic guitar and harmony vocals, the SexDwarf member plays harmonium, melodica and piano. Jackson and Boyne also share co-production credits.

The album's title is a little confusing, since whatever genre she happens to be exploring on any specific album, Jackson's approach is essentially acoustic irrespective of the arrangements and instrumentation. Nonetheless, "The Acoustic Sessions" boasts a live, off-the-floor vibe and the vocals are front and centre. Jackson has never sounded stronger and more self-assured as a vocalist.

Guest musicians include friends and members from her various bands, including Joe Dunn on national steel and electric guitar, Scott Fitzpatrick on mandolin and upright bass, Nick Storring on cello, Steve Wood on pedal steel, Wendy Wright on violin and Norman Blake on shakers.

Whether you call it folk, country, introspective songwriter or roots, "The Acoustic Sessions" is, hands down, my favourite of her albums.

Jackson and Boyne host a CD release party on Sunday at Waterloo's Jane Bond. Guests include Dunn, Fitzpatrick, Wood, Wright and Andy Miller. Ottawa's Slo' Tom opens. Admission including a CD is $10. Doors open at 8 p.m. - The Waterloo Region Record

To the sound of piano, cello and harmonium whispers the Canadian singer-songwriter LYNN JACKSON times haunting, sometimes melancholic melodies into the microphone.
No matter what story you just told - everything gets here a unique musical coloring and yet stands unmistakably in the tradition of singer / songwriter folk and -Roots.
Songs Of Rain, Snow & Remembering, co-produced by Norman Blake (Teenage Fanclub ), is already the eighth album of the based in Kitchener, Ontario artist.
Everything is incredibly harmonious and full of emotions, melodies are savored with relish.
The only non-written by Jackson song is called “rake” and comes from none other than Townes Van Zandt, the undisputed master of all sad poet. - Country Jukebox

While listening to Lynn’s Jackson’s contemplative Songs of Rain, Snow and Remembering I was reminded of the adage:

Every cloud has a silver lining

How this old saw relates to the Kitchener singer/songwriter’s eight studio album is self-explanatory. Jackson sings her sad songs with such passion, empathy and eloquence that she draws listeners back from the edge of despair to a safe place of solace and peace.

Song titles such as Sky Looks Like Rain, Riding Out the Storm, Long Winter and Winter Sun capture the album’s emotional atmosphere, as reflected in Robert McNair’s elegant photographs that adorn the CD.

Jackson introduces her latest album Friday at 8:30 pm at the Boathouse in Kitchener’s Victoria Park. Admission is $10 at the door or $15 including a copy of the CD.

Jackson is a prolific roots songwriter, bridging folk, country, blues and art pop She averages an album per year — or pretty close. Although she is steadily building a national profile through annual touring, she is emblematic of the vibrancy of the local music scene.

She’s a Kitchener resident, worked in Kitchener as a newspaper copyeditor before devoting more of her time and attention to music, records on the Kitchener-based Busted Flat Records roots label, records in local studios with local producers and musicians. She launches new albums at local venues.

Songs of Rain, Snow and Remembering was recorded between January and July of this year with Norman Blake (Teenage Fanclub) at his Spaghetti Studios. Blake, who moved to Kitchener five years from Glasgow, recorded Jackson’s retrospective album The Acoustic Sessions.

Jackson’s warm voice, as clear as a mountain trout stream, is front and centre, framed by tasteful arrangements that complement without dominating.

Jackson will be joined on stage with the talented gathering of local and kind-of-local musicians who appeared on the album including Aran Paul on piano, organ and percussion, Joe Dunn (King Roller and Sexdwarf) on electric and slide guitars, Nick Storring on cello, Scott Fitzpatrick on upright bass and Brent Hagerman on guitar. Chris Boyne (Sexdwarf), who worked with Jackson on The Acoustic Sessions, contributes on backing vox and harmonium. Jackson’s regular drummer Andy Miller also joins in on the musical fun.

Ottawa’s John Allare opens.

Concert info is available at 519-749-8080.

Check out Jackson on her website at www.lynnjackson.net - Reid Between the Lines

Dang.

I hate coming late to the game, but such is the situation as I first encountered Lynn Jackson this past month.

The Kitchener, ON singer and songwriter is on album number eight with Songs of Rain, Snow, & Remembering and I don’t think I’ve previously heard of her.
Given the clarity of her voice and the strength of her material, one would hope I would have remembered had I encountered her music.

Dang.

She’s good.

Songs of Rain, Snow, & Remembering is (largely) an acoustic album, produced by Norman Blake. Admittedly, I got quite excited when I saw Blake’s name in the album notes, having long been an appreciator of the old-time folk instrumentalist.
Who knew Norman Blake is also a Scottish-transplant to Canada most famous as part of Teenage Fanclub, a band I may have heard of without ever having heard?

Well, other than most of the world excepting me?

Dang.

Lynn Jackson reminds me a lot of Mary-Chapin Carpenter, and yes the hyphen is purposely included as, long ago, that is how I came to know MCC, before the stadiums and theatres, back when she was recording Hometown Girl and State of the Heart and still had a hyphen in her given name.
That is the MCC of which Jackson reminds me, along with Cheryl Wheeler, Lynn Miles, and Shari Ulrich.

Jackson writes songs that sound very personal while embracing universal appeal and circumstance. That I am a 50+ white male that can’t play the same chord twice in a row matters not—I can relate to the stories Jackson tells, the emotions she conveys, the longing she communicates.
Confessional without discomfort. “Riding Out the Storm” and “Water & Glass” are quite remarkable performances.
The autumnal nature of the album is apparent—change, passing our prime, closing of chapters—and are brought to the fore on songs including “Winter Sun,” “Next Best Thing,” and “Long Winter.” Townes Van Zandt’s “Rake” is another highlight.

I don’t like the fret noise apparent on “Ribbons”; to me, such scrapes sound messy and irritating, distracting from the song’s moment. A shame that, as the songwriting apparent here is quite striking.

Folk? Perhaps that is the best label. File under: Good. - Fervor Coulee

Songs Of Rain, Snow & Remembering “is the eighth album in Kitchener, Ontario resident singer / songwriter Lynn Jackson. On her last, in 2014 released album “The Acoustic Sessions’ she brought along with her musical partner Chris Boyne 13 songs from her repertoire but in an acoustic setting.

For ‘Songs Of Rain, Snow & Remembering Lynn again chooses a backing band, which also forms part of the Boyne. Besides the singing Lynn also takes the acoustic guitar for her bill. Her voice is warm and clear and sometimes a bit of sixties. Moreover, she approves stunning with its poetic lyrics. Musically they tapped from multiple vessels. Now it’s more folk, sometimes a little more roots of soul, but each time she manages to do it with knowledge. Album opener ‘Sky Looks Like Rain “has something with soul sprinkled folk. It mainly carried by piano and acoustic guitar ‘Long Winter’ is again a perfect reflection of this period, often with associated sadness. Its influences from the late sixties and the early seventies to them then know quite musical expression in “Riding Out The Storm ‘with a blistering solo by Joe Dunn on the electric guitar. The piano and acoustic guitar accompanied ballad “Water & Glass’, closes the album in beauty.

Songs Of Rain, Snow & Remembering “cherishes a certain sadness. A feeling that is reinforced by the sporadic use of the melancholy-sounding cello and harmonium. Strangely, however, this is not as Lynn finds her inspiration in the love, hope and loneliness. The album is best suited to a roaring fire the dark days before Christmas musical coloring. - Keys and Chords

Eleven years after the release of her debut album “Night Songs” comes the Canadian singer and song writer Lynn Jackson from Kitchener, Ontario with her eighth solo album. The album title “Songs Of Rain, Snow And Remembering” suggests that we will get a plate full of songs about sadness, gloom and nostalgic look back at the past. Partly is that a correct assumption, but there is certainly also a decent helping of positivism and hope in the the songs processed.

Opener “Sky Looks Like Rain” has all those mentioned characteristics, but in the subsequent “Young” Lynn Jackson still gives the message to not too much to look back on what happened, but rather to look forward on how to get more intense of the future will be able to enjoy. Her previous plate “The Acoustic Sessions”, which they released in 2014 along with Chris Boyne, was produced by Norman Blake, the singer and composer of Scottish pop and folk group
’ Teenage Fan Club ‘. He was also behind the buttons in the recording studio for this new plate of Lynn Jackson. She plays itself on acoustic guitar in accompaniment to her songs and for the recording of this album were pianist Paul, cellist Nick Storring Arun, guitarists Joe Dunn and Brent Hagerman, bassist Scott Fitzpatrick and harmonium player and backing vocalist Chris Boyne in the studio for additional instrumentation.



The emotional piano ballad “Long Winter” is the first song that manages to grab us by the scruff of the neck. That Lynn Jackson attaches great importance to the songs lyrics we actually no more to mention.
You can perhaps look better and listen to the song “Riding Out The Storm”.



Her in the trade press-created title as a female version of Bob Dylan or Leonard Cohen she deserves the fullest, listen for that, but look at “Next Best Thing”, piano ballad “Ribbons” with good work on cello, intriguing “Flying” and “Mine Alone” or the two slot numbers “Winter Sun” and “Water Glass”.



For this eighth album chose Lynn Jackson sure to cover a song from another folk artist. That was the song ‘Rake’ from the repertoire of the legendary Townes Van Zandt and find it back on his first album, ‘Be Here To Love Me’ from 1971.

To be cheerful should not go to ‘Songs Of Rain, Snow And Remembering’ listen, but if you’re a lover of beautiful stories told in a melodious bed of piano and cello music, then we can make this new record by Lynn Jackson certainly very hot at you. - Rootstime, Belgium

Lynn Jackson is a prolific folk-rooted singer/songwriter of immense talent. As the album title suggests, the mood of her new (eighth) record Songs Of Rain, Snow & Remembering is oft melancholy or wistful, making a fall release very apt.

The only non-original song here, “Rake” is by Townes Van Zandt, a master of poetic sadness. It’s interesting to note that this lovely album was recorded, mixed and mastered by Norman Blake, a member of much-loved Scottish band Teenage Fanclub (Blake now lives in Kitchener). He does a masterful job of balancing the different musical components here. The diverse instrumentation includes cello, harmonium and djembe alongside guitars and keyboards on the drums-free record, resulting in something of a chamber folk feel.

Blake also co-produced Jackson’s last album, The Acoustic Sessions, and she explains “He and I agree on the approach of getting a few takes to capture the spirit of the song and not overworking things.”

Jackson plays Southern Ontario dates until the end of the year, and will tour Western Canada in the spring. Check her site for details. - New Canadian Music

Ontario based singer/songwriter, Lynn Jackson is about to release her eighth recording, Songs Of Rain, Snow and Remembering on October 23, 2015 via Busted Flat Records. The high praise garnered by her previous offering, The Acoustic Sessions has set the bar high for this release.
The album features eleven full length tracks, all with a folk vibe that is undeniable, but also combines rock and country elements to create a unique sound that is pleasing to the ear. It quickly became apparent to me that Lynn knows what she’s doing, and it’s no surprise that she’s released seven albums before this one.
I can see that current fans of her music will enjoy this album, as did I. The first track, The Sky Looks Like Rain was a perfect choice to begin the album as it showcases Lynn’s vocals, as well as the bands talent, and that fact shines through the entire album.
All in all, I would say that this album is well put together and a great collection of tracks. The only downfall for me was that there are no upbeat songs, which would make the album well rounded, and possibly appeal to a larger number of listeners. - Canadian Beats

A very sparse, introspective set of songs here, as you might have guessed from the title. Mellow? Yeah- sometimes Songs Of Rain makes James Taylor look like Motley Crue- but when you’re in the mood to examine things and contemplate your life’s choices, this disc is mighty fine company.

The addition of piano and cello to Jackson’s sonic palette this time out results in an exquisitely lush sound, perfect for night time listening. Allmusic speaks of her as “an excellent narrative songwriter; she tells stories that the listener can climb inside and inhabit for as long as (they) wish, and (are) haunted by them long after the recording ends”, which is exactly how this collection of songs feels to me. There’s something haunting about the cello in particular that draws me in, asking me to listen deeper and feel what it is she’s trying to say, particularly on a songlike Ribbons.

As I listen to Songs Of Rain I find myself drawn into Lynn Jackson’s startling narrative- then, I might drift away into some personal circumstance that her song is stirring up for me, before finding my way back into her story again, and she’s probably happy with that. The songs are melodically simple but well played, making it easy to notice your own life within the lyrics, and I suspect that’s her intention. The best records, after all, are a collection of stories that function like a mirror when you hold them up and gaze in, and that’s just what Songs Of Rain, Snow & Remembering is for me, anyway. I may not even listen to it all that often- but when I do, it will be because I’m compelled to do so. - Gonzo Online, Canada

With ‘Songs Of Rain, Snow & Remembering the Canadian singer songwriter Lynn Jackson already made her eighth album.
Not only is the album title is nice, also the album is beautiful.
The album is between January and July this year included under the direction of Norman Blake (Teenage Fanclub). With its bright and warm voice Lynn Jackson knows how to captivate eleven songs long. Her lyrics about love, loneliness and hope are beautiful. On the album make traditional instruments such as banjo, pedal steel and dobro place mostly for the piano and cello. It is the atmosphere for me definitely better. For me, ‘Song Of Rain, Snow & Remembering’ has become an amazingly beautiful album.
An absolute must. - Rudolf's Music

Kitchener singer-songwriter Lynn Jackson is releasing her eighth full-length record, “Songs of Rain, Snow, & Remembering.” The album, recorded by Scottish ex-pat pop-genius Norman Blake, finds Jackson in familiar territory with her clear, muscular voice giving depth and conviction to tales of love, loneliness, and hope. As always, her sensitive guitar playing and crack band give her songs a sturdy ship to sail on.

On the eve of the release, the Busted Flat Records recording artist reminisced on her career thus far, the inspirations she’s following, and being something of an anomaly in a sea of boys and their guitars.

“The journey, for me, of writing songs is just finding new ways to tell the stories that reflect where you are in your life — or what the experience is of others around you or stories that you hear about. The older I get, the more and more I hear stories about people struggling. People that I don’t know and people I’ve known for years. I don’t think things get easier as you get older; things just change and pose new challenges and obstacles. It’s really about how people deal with those changes. And also how people view themselves within the mire of it all.”

Jackson’s journey is not only focused on new ways to articulate the ups and downs of the human condition. As an artist fiercely dedicated to her craft, she needs to find new ways to make her songs sing and satisfy her own muse. Though typically described as a roots or folk musician, a more discerning ear is able to pick out many other influences in her music — jazz, rock ‘n’ roll, chamber-pop ... It’s a trait Jackson is justly proud of.

“I love roots and folk music, and I’ve done a few albums in that vein, but I love all kinds of music and I like to experiment and stretch things sonically,” she explained. “Like having harmonium on this album and having a lot of piano and cello rather than your typical ‘roots’ instruments with banjo, pedal steel, dobro ... I get bored easily and I’m always very conscious that I don’t want to make the same sounding album twice.

“I think this album is a crossroads ... the slide guitar and the upright bass, with the more orchestral songs that have string arrangements. I really like the idea of blurring the edges of different genres. It really feels like a transitional album to me.”

Jackson’s female perspective in a male dominated scene is a unique one. The sheer length of her 17-year career is enough that she simply doesn’t have many peers. For her, it’s not something that has held her back, or something that she thinks should be daunting for other young female artists.

“There is no ‘girl card’ to play here,” she said. “The pressure is always on to put on a good show and win them over. That means that it doesn’t matter how tired you are or how far you’ve driven; you’ve gotta stand on the ‘X’ every night and deliver the best you are able.

“To the newer faces, I try to be encouraging, but realistic. It’s a lot of work. It’s a lot of time spent honing your skill on your instrument, finding your voice, and figuring out what you want to say. Everyone has potential and everyone will have certain strengths that will shine through, and things they will have to constantly work at.”

Jackson has every reason to be pleased. She has continued to thrive by following her instincts and improving her God-given skills with pure gumption, practice, and tenacity. She has made her records the way she wants to hear them and earned a healthy audience anxious to hear what she does next. She has mapped her own journey and is consistently discovering what she seeks. She is proud of where she’s gotten, but she’s always looking forward.

“The thing that makes me feel good is when I can see people in the crowd singing the words to my songs ... people who say that my songs helped them get through difficult times. (But) just the rehearsing, doing the work and showing up, that is the accomplishment in itself.

“I don’t look back too much because I’m in the middle of it. It’s ongoing.” - The Waterloo Region Record - Arts section

No, this is not Mrs.Greenbird, although the voice of Lynn Jackson sometimes sounds as the those of Sarah Nücken, at least in the opening song. But this initial impression is relative in the course of “The Acoustic Sessions” - that is, in the second song crystallizes this sound that is very similar to Country, out, both protagonists vocally supportive.

“The Acoustic Sessions”, already the album title says it so clearly from: Here the plug be pulled. Unplugged is there in the air, but the pedal steel raises the purely acoustic positioning but then overboard .... stripped down to take advantage of this expression is reduced in the instrumentation, which then fits are more likely.

Something like this can often lead to the essence of music is emphasized, but only as long as potential and mass are there to reduce anything can. Lynn Jackson argues that it intended, even record a album with simple knitted production, which to some extent also will sound like it. On their tour performances, which denies solo However, there are two musicians who have something to say: Chris Boyne and Norman Blake, the latter of Teenage Fanclub. He has also produced the album.

The sound based not only on influences from folk to country also. Sometimes appeared a shade blues, singer / songwriter elements are also not left out and so everything fits nicely back into the Americana pot. But here it is music of a special kind, a homely living room concert feeling will not let you go in hearing. This intimate warmth is the real strength of the plate. Lynn’s voice can not always convince me and Chris then pierces even more prominent as a duet partner, working alongside his guitar and other instruments.

This album may also well be viewed as a retrospective, but it contains music from the last six albums of the artist. To establish: Yes, potential and mass are there - the album is quite successful. - Rocktimes, Germany