OK, so who the heck is Jer Gregg and what does he want? Well, Jer is a very talented vocalist who also plays guitar like his Grandaddy does and who just wants you to know he has rock n' blues for you to listen to. Listed under the Americana genre this gives Jer plenty scope to showcase his talent and stretch the genre a little bit too. To sum up – this is what Southern Comfort sounds like in a non-liquid form!

The music here is guitar led with clear vocals, both provided by Jer. It was recorded in his front room with his drummer and utilised a variety of household products on the percussion, for example that is steak seasoning you can hear on 'If You Keep Me Around'. All songs are written by Jer with exception of 'Soulchild' which was written by R Scarbrough. All are decent lengths and crucially they sound original.

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The stand out songs here are 'Parachute', 'Its Called Love', 'Soulchild' and Jer's favourite, 'Little Bird'.

The opener, 'Parachute', is everything you need for the perfect introduction to a new album. Its engaging, the guitar catches you and the vocals describe heartbreak – perfect vocal delivery to engage your heart too.



It is gentle, laid back and very reminiscent of Tom Petty in style.

'Its Called Love' is another of my favourites with Jer getting the mood and delivery right, even spelling it out so we get the message.

There is a definite vocal rhythm here that showcases Jer's song writing style of lyrics and poetry first which he then wraps the melody and rhythm around. So the main rhythm here is supported in the vocal delivery.

'Dressed Up For Nothing' is gentle guitar with gentle and soft vocals, almost like a lullaby (almost!).

'Soulchild' is the only song on this album not written by Jer. It has a good chorus when the story arrives there and again is fantastic for showcasing Jer's vocal ability as blending melody and rhythm at the same time. This is a perfectly integrated and arranged song and is beautiful to listen to.

'If You Keep Me Around' demonstrates that simplicity and easy listening are still big winners as this song slowly but surely picks up the pace and – yes – there it is – the steak seasoning making an appearance as percussion!

'The Taste of Blood' lets us know that Jer can get a bit gnarly and there are a few naughty words in there which are not fully becoming from a southern based chap but you get the general message.

'Little Bird' is Jer's favourite song on this album and here it is for you to listen for yourself.



Final song, 'The Queen Mary', has soft phrasing, no rush with a bit of harmonica here and there which is a good way to finish this album, telling us all is good in Jer-land.

1 Parachute
2 Its Called Love
3 Dressed Up For Nothing
4 Soulchild
5 If You Keep Me Around
6 The Taste of Blood
7 Little Bird
8 The Queen Mary

This is an absolute gem of an album with a good old dose of southern style rock at it's best. It is original, well written and produced. It's unhurried in it's delivery and if you have an ear for good guitar orientated music then this should sit well with you and pretty easily too.

It sounds like sunny warm days sitting out on the porch with guitars and Southern Comfort for all.

Not bad. Not bad at all.



7.8.12