American music, what’s not to love? The Supernatural style lone hero in a muscle car, riding into the sun with folk-rock and blues tracks ramming in the stereos. One can easily imagine Reverend James Elmore Jenkins’s music as the soundtrack to the pinnacle of one of America’s iconic TV series as it is salt of the earth, grungy, and Gospel-infused. Like a modern hymn, Reverend James Elmore Jenkins’s album Bound for Glory is an album for the cross-state car ride. Like a 3 Doors Down, Bob Dylan mashup, Bound for Glory retains its original sound without paying homage to the blues legends such as Blind Willie Johnson, Blind Willie McTell, and Skip James.
The lingering guitar melodies of “Lead Me On” are loaded with rhythm and drive. “I Will Go” is a Gospel-Psych country ballad that resonates with the listener long after it ends. The intensity that “Lead Me On” harbors differ greatly from the soft, lively folk melody “Unforgiving Land” and does not prepare for the quirky, experimental track “Woman” which both delivers and satisfies and represents a refreshing break from the emotionally charged songs such as “Walkin’ In the Spirit” with its unusual blend of bongos and drums. But the track that shines is the classic country-folk song “Ramblin’ Hobo” with its earthy sound yet intriguing lyrics.
Bound for Glory shows the true American soul of staying on the road for too long, singing about lost loves, praying to God in dark times, and reminiscing about a past and a future that strangely intertwine.
