James J. Turner Spirit

JAMES J. TURNER: Spirit, Soul and a Handful of Mud 

 

James J .Turner is a singer-songwriter with heavy folk influences, as is also underlined by  instruments such as the violin, mandolin and accordion. Or is it the  other way around - a folksinger in the singer-songwriter tradition? Folk that rocks in places too. It doesn’t matter too much, since Turner treats us to a dozen new self-penned tunes of his very own brand.  Some you can sing along to (“Watching You”, with a chorus reminding me of ‘hey you, the rock-steady crew’...), some you can folk-dance to (“Heart of Gold”) and many meant to sit down and listen to - you can still decide about the singing and dancing afterwards.

Sit down and listen, because James J. Turner has a view on life he wants to communicate. He’d be happy if you shared his message and most unhappy if you took it for a manual (I presume, I didn’t ask). A lyricist once asked “What colour is the soul of man?”, but Turner’s question sounds more like “What is man, if not soul and spirit?”. And a little mud to symbolize his earthiness, viz. his inabilities and failures in view of his own promises and hopes. A handful of mud too, because no value can exist without being put in perspective by its counterpart. The soul and the spirit are not stand-alones, they must detach themselves from something basic  – God’s clay, man’s mud.

James J. Turner’s songs are about the soul and the spiritual life as opposed to material and materialistic life - the latter bringing about damage and wreckage rather than happiness and salvation. Turner’s concern regards the good life, more exactly an individual’s good life: we’re all unique and able to choose between good and bad (“Watching You”). He’s on the side of the poor soul as this is the truthful soul  (“Heart Of Gold”). Turner suggests a strong sense of duty when he states that one may opt for the bad life, but no-one can escape his karma (”Karma Will Track You Down”, half song, half chant).

James J. Turner is concerned with items such as morality, justice and our repressive society, yet he’s not your usual rebel or protest singer-songwriter. All in all, this about the spiritual life. It’s no surprise to learn then that Turner is an active participant in the druid / pagan movement.

This is a very nice record full of real songs. Turner performs them with a powerful and convincing voice and is backed by an accomplished and versatile band.

© Eddy Bonte

As published on Radio 68’s website www.radio68.be as background information for my show ‘Free Spee ch’ of 11th and 12th July 2016.
Reference: James J. Turner: Spirit, Soul and a Handful of Mud (Touch the Moon, cd, 2016) www.jamesjturner.com

(redactie 27Oct2016)