CD review: Joel Decatur -- Seeking the House-Builder [LP]

Damn I really LOVE this CD. Other than that, Joel Decatur is hard to describe. For starters I’d say this album feels like it is one up from Pearl Jam. (And I do love my Pearl Jam.) Just really inspired, well developed tracks delivered by smooth, professional players -- musicians who, like Decatur, have got the technical side of instrumentation down and who sound great together, like they all share the same organs or robbed stores together as children. I wouldn’t call it folk-rock or Americana, it is more like just plain rock-rock, but that’s what Joel Decatur calls it, noting that he got his start playing progressive metal. “Essentially I cut my guitar playing teeth with a heavier approach,” Joel explains on his website. “Although, innately I was firmly planted in the blues structure.” One thing you’ll surely appreciate is Decatur’s rich vocals on top of the consistently moving orchestration and lyrical brilliance, and it turns out that he worked on those very vocals after an audition to be the lead for Blind Melon. (Note that Brad Smith from Blind Melon makes an appearance on bass on the song “Trust.”) “One thing this did for me was to put my vocals in the spotlight, something I had never done before,” Decatur writes of getting so close to making Blind Melon happen. “So to get such praise from a band I have huge respect for was the push I needed to forge a new path. I started to concentrate on writing acoustic songs, taking vocal lessons and really finding my place.” You’ll be glad he did that, and you’ll be extra pleased that we told you about this fine album.

http://www.joeldecatur.com/
http://www.myspace.com/joelwdecatur
http://twitter.com/joeldecatur