Album Review: Jon Wolfe 'Natural Man'

During his career, Oklahoma native turned Texan Jon Wolfe has garnered six consecutive top ten singles. His previous release It All Happened in A Honky Tonk made him one of the must see live acts in the Texas music scene. Wolfe is a singer songwriter who is country to the core-something that is on display in his highly anticipated new album, Natural Man, set for release March 31st. 

Produced by Wolfe, Lex Lipsitz and Billy Decker, the album contains thirteen tracks, including leadoff single the instantly catchy "Smile On Mine," which have a modern energy without sacrificing tradition. In addition to the instrumentation and storytelling, Wolfe’s voice is classic, strong, believable and warm--enveloping you as you listen. 

From the first song, “If You're Lonely Too,” an up-tempo tune about spending some time with a woman even if it's just for a little while, to the last, the record will grab your ears (and toes for tapping) for an uninterrupted listen. Many of the tracks deal with love: whether it's just for one dance (“It Just Feels Right”), declaring your feelings to the whole town (“That’s what I’m Talkin’ About") or promising to always be there for her "like a Bible on the nightstand" in the title track. 

The image of a perfect southern summer evening sitting on a porch swing with “two hearts thumping like a bass drum drumming all night” is on perfect display in "Don't It Feel Good," while “She Beats All I’ve Ever Seen” is a feel good song about how all of the worldly experiences can't match the sight of the one he loves. 

The record also deals with the end of relationships. In “Outrun Her Memory” it's the inability to forget someone no matter how far he goes. "She's like a ghost that haunts me everywhere I go" while in “I’m Doin’ Alright” he has a new job, a new bachelor pad and he's doin' alright (or so he says) "except for the whiskey in my life/except for the lonely I feel every night/except for the way I miss holding you tight/except for the way I don’t sleep anymore since that day you walked out my door." Finally, in "Married to Nothin'," he warns the ladies not to get too attached because he's a wanderer, "a memory in the making" who lives by the motto "easy come easy go." "I'd love to promise you everything, but girl I know what's coming, I ain't married to nothin'."

Two standout tracks are “Singin’ Thing” and "When I Get To Heaven." The former is a gentle guitar ballad in which he reflects on falling in love with this "singin' thing" and his sometimes surprising journey chasing his dreams. The latter, and closing track, is an ode to all he loves about country music from the steel guitars, and fiddles to the honky tonks and how when he's called to Heaven, he hopes those things are there too.

Natural Man will surely garner Wolfe additional top ten singles on the Texas charts, but it is an album that would be a welcome addition to mainstream radio as well. 

Natural Man is available for pre-order here and will be available for pre-order at digital retailers on March 3rd

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