Jackie Greene

You can't throw a vintage Western shirt these days without hitting another Americana revivalist — and few are worth the faded plaid they're dressed up in. Then there's Jackie Greene. Nimbly sidestepping the inherent corniness of too many contemporary twang-mongers, Greene has used his association with the jam scene —...

By Jason Heller

January 10, 2011

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You can't throw a vintage Western shirt these days without hitting another Americana revivalist — and few are worth the faded plaid they're dressed up in. Then there's Jackie Greene. Nimbly sidestepping the inherent corniness of too many contemporary twang-mongers, Greene has used his association with the jam scene — he's played with various Grateful Dead survivors and toured with Gov't Mule — to spread his bone-deep and abiding love of rootsy American songcraft. Rather than being a study in formalism, though, his music has a knack for bending tradition to suit his own fluid and soulful melodic sense. And since first perking up ears with "I Will Never Let You Go," his haunting contribution to the Brokeback Mountain soundtrack, he's been on a roll, up to and including last year's polished yet pure-hearted Till the Light Comes.

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