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Jakob Dylan: Women + Country

Columbia

The title of Jakob Dylan’s sophomore solo record seems apropos with the addition of backing vocals from women Neko Case and Kelly Hogan and with a much more country edge than his previous work. Women + Country features many of T Bone Burnett’s hallmarks — the same tight production that helped Dylan achieve multi-platinum success with The Wallflowers on 1996’s Bringing Down the Horse. It’s laden with folky harmonies, rootsy ballads and provocative lyrics—about relationships, working the land, emotional and socio-political struggles—boasting a much fuller sound than his uber-stripped down 2008 solo debut Seeing Things. Dylan’s vocals sometimes recall an early day Bruce Springsteen, and Case and Hogan have the ability to add great vocal textures without ever upstaging him. The 11 tracks are an amalgam of folk, country and blues from strings, banjo, mandolin, snare (“Nothing But the Whole Wide World”), to heavy percussion and jazzy horns (“Lend a Hand”) to lush harmonies (“Everybody’s Hurting”) and pedal-steel lullabies (“Yonder Come the Blues”). It feels vintage, soulful—and speaks to America’s everyman.