Jason Eklund, Come 'n' Gone (Muszeekans, 2002)

"There you are alone, down and feeling blue
When someone comes along, who can see what you've been through."
---Jason Eklund, "Hey Friend"

Originally from Colorado, Jason Eklund is a man of the road. Known for living out of the trunk and back seat of his old car, he now drives a cab in Madison, Wisconsin...or so the legend goes. During the past decade, he's delivered a couple albums on Flying Fish, a train-smoked duo with Roger Johnson on Gadfly, and a couple more recently on his own label, Muszeekans. Come 'n' Gone is on his own label and comes from Austin, Texas.

In his earlier days, Eklund was compared to John Prine and Bob Dylan and has a similar anybody-can-sing voice. He's at his best around a campfire with a guitar, and most of the songs on this album are written from, rather than about, the road. They're fun to sing and listen to, though the lyrics or stories seldom tear up new tracks. Some, like "Rhonda Rose" and "Song For Mary," reflect on romance. One entertaining bluesy rocker goes, "My life goes back and forth like a yo-yo....you snap me back and forth and say it's just a fling!" I guess we all feel like that sometimes.

The most interesting songs are in the middle, where Eklund hitchhikes the socio-political highway. According to the Woody-esque "Farmer Ain't the Man," "there ain't no Farmers Almanac on Monsanto land..." Not only are the lyrics sharp, but the song has a solid funky beat via a tin wastebasket and Eklund yodels as well. "I say to the bastard's back/That I won't eat that processed crap." Wa-hoo!

"My Side Of the Street," written by Tom Kee, is about the progress we haven't made in Civil Rights. "Pickin' California" is about migrants, maybe set in the Thirties, maybe now "...pickin' California's Grapes Of Wrath."

Come 'n' Gone was recorded with different personnel, in three separate locations in Austin, and one in Wimberley, Texas, but most include Gurf Morlix on guitar, dobro, and harmonium, Tom Irwin on bass, and Rick Richards on drums. Austonians Darcy Deaville and Slaid Cleaves pop up in a rowdy song about drinking, as well as Roger Johnson from the 1995 Streamliner's Duet and Houstonian Carolyn Wonderland. The arrangements are mostly Texas country folk, but range from very simple to screaming electric bluesy rock. The excellent bands seem to be having a great time and seem very involved and integrated with the vocals, while maintaining a life all their own. While Come 'n' Gone won't win any Grammys, it has a real magic that comes from its integrity and good times. A good pick for people seeking real, down to earth contemporary folk music!