In the course of two albums, Mississippi-bred, Nashville-based singer-songwriter Dave Barnes has managed to win glowing accolades from John Mayer, turn Amy Grant into a self-proclaimed stalker, and sell more than 30,000 records without the help of a music label. Sounds like a sign of good things to come.
It only takes a few melodic bars of Barnes’ second release, Chasing Mississippi, to understand what’s-up here. This cat’s drawing from a bottomless well of soul, and it’s not hard to imagine him quickly becoming an in-demand tunesmith for others. He claims, incidentally, that he’s written the perfect song for Bonnie Raitt. Memo to Bonnie: Give the kid a call. Better yet: Put him on retainer.
On Chasing Mississippi, Barnes treats the listener to a smooth batch of blue-eyed Southern soul-pop that channels vintage vibes, not unlike his gritty-voiced pal (and fellow Taylor player) Marc Broussard, or young man/old soul Jonny Lang. It sounds like there’s a wellspring of roots music in Barnes’ bones — R&B, gospel, funk, blues, some Muscle Shoals mojo, ripples of Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder. He just seems intuitively aware of how to make a song soulful.
It’s great to hear Barnes forge his own modern classic sound, honoring his influences but refreshing them with contemporary pop-rock hooks. Major props to Barnes’ superb band (and producer Ed Cash); they sure know how to cook up a delicious, rhythmic meal.
The old-school influences show up right away on the album’s opener, “A Lot Like Me”, as Barnes & Co. kick off the party with some slick funk grooving. These guys have the touch, and know how to syncopate their licks and rhythms in a tasty give-and-take that breathes slinky life into every passage they touch.
“Jackson” is a sweet, bluesy waltz made even sweeter with Vince Gill on electric lead and backing vocal harmony. On “Someday, Sarah”, electric keys fuel a softly simmering R&B groove that’s giddy with the promise of love. “Greyhound” chugs along with up-tempo acoustic urgency, fueled by handclapping, chuffing harp, upright bass, and gospel harmonies as Barnes pines for his baby’s bus to roll into town. “Miles to Go” peels off a slice of energetic, radio-friendly pop-rock with — surprise — a guitar solo outro! I thought those were illegal anymore.
Barnes shows with flair that sweet, soulful music will always find an audience.
— Jim Kirlin
In the course of two albums, Mississippi-bred, Nashville-based singer-songwriter Dave Barnes has managed to win glowing accolades from John Mayer, turn Amy Grant into a self-proclaimed stalker, and sell more than 30,000 records without the help of a music label. Sounds like a sign of good things to come.