Jason Garriotte aka Chords of Truth is a force to be reckoned with. He’s bound for glory; maybe not commercial fame, but that’s never been a good judge of talent, anyways. Jason is the real deal; on his latest release, “Freedom” he’s a honky-tonk poet, and radio just isn’t ready for that yet.
Some “traditional” singer-songwriters are rocking-chair, chord-change strapped and others can’t help but launch themselves into melody and groove. Chords of Truth is not tethered in the least. His is special stuff that exists in the realm that has no label. Never lazy, always urgent, sometimes satirical and most times straight, Jason continues to amaze me with his songwriting and the flow of his music.
On “Freedom”, Chords of Truth has discovered America, wait, make that Americana: On none of his previous releases can I remember that this singer/songwriter dug so deep into the vein of classic, traditional American music while commenting on the 21st century –
“Freedom is Freedom is Freedom is oh ya Freedom is undefined
No one can tell you what it means
because it’s a state of mind”
I’ll leave it to the other music critics to pigeon-hole Chords of Truth into whatever genre fits their needs, for me this is simply, empowering and uplifting stuff. He has always had that rare ability to be fun, pertinent and easy to listen to.
For those of you tired of the same old corporate country-folk “crossover appeal” garbage populating modern radio these days, Chords of Truth is the cure with this track. A blend of Johnny Cash meets JJ Cale sits nicely in the description, of the groove and vibe Jason brings to the table here.
Chords of Truth’ twangy guitar and warm melodic singing introduces everyone to themselves plainly and with an unbending honesty that’s hard to withstand without some sort of pain killer –
“When we are little ones We have questions about
how things are done. Is there a rule of thumb?
On how to find happiness and love with freedom”
Really, few active songwriters can grab a listener with unpretentious stories and sharply cut images like Chords of Truth. He deftly employs just the right combination of words against the backing of solid Americana-Folk to paint pictures of his vision. This song, like many of his others songs, gives the listener something to think about.
That, again, is a rarity in popular music nowadays. Not to lapse into hyperbole but I really find Chords of Truth’s latest track to be able to site nicely alongside anything created by other classic Folk/Americana artists. If any of this sounds like something that might interest to you, please do yourself a favor and give this a listen.
One other thing: the sound quality is excellent. Every instrument and vocal, is clear, ringing out, and spread neatly on the stereo spectrum.
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