Mason Jennings goes electric with Blood of Man, which finds the Hawaii native channeling the raw, loose sounds of Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.
This isn't a rock & roll record, but it's the closest that Jennings has ever come to losing himself in amplified noise, and there's a sense of homespun energy fueling each rootsy number.
Jennings handles all the instrumental duties himself, embracing slightly imperfect performances rather than smoothing them out, and the album's production -- also helmed entirely by Jennings -- is suitably straightforward, eschewing the usual studio polish for a simple pinch of reverb.
There are stronger ways to highlight a songwriter's craft, better microphones to use, and more experienced studio musicians to enlist.
But that doesn't seem to be the point here, as Blood of Man concerns itself with all the raw aspects of life, from war to addiction to heartbreak.
Jennings strengthens the album by simply tying its themes together, paying attention to the various relationships between melody and instrument, lyrics and atmosphere, performance and production.
2004's Use Your Voice had a similar agenda, and Blood of Man sounds like that album's companion piece, merging the same traces of folk, roots rock, and small-town storytelling with a simple increase in volume.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | City of GhostsMason Jennings | Mason Jennings | Play | 03:14 | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| 2 | PittsburghMason Jennings | Mason Jennings | Play | 03:55 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 3 | The FieldMason Jennings | Mason Jennings | Play | 05:37 | 12 MB | 28 MB |
| 4 | TouristMason Jennings | Mason Jennings | Play | 03:21 | 7 MB | 16 MB |
| 5 | Black Wind BlowingMason Jennings | Mason Jennings | Play | 04:48 | 11 MB | 28 MB |
| 6 | Ain't No Friend of MineMason Jennings | Mason Jennings | Play | 03:13 | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| 7 | Sing OutMason Jennings | Mason Jennings | Play | 04:27 | 10 MB | 24 MB |
| 8 | SunlightMason Jennings | Mason Jennings | Play | 04:32 | 10 MB | 26 MB |
| 9 | Lonely RoadMason Jennings | Mason Jennings | Play | 04:07 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 10 | Blood of ManMason Jennings | Mason Jennings | Play | 05:04 | 11 MB | 21 MB |
| 42 mins | 97 MB | |||||
| 42 mins | 234 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Danny Clinch | Photography |
| 2 | Alex Field | Design, Layout Design |
| 3 | Johannes Gamble | Design, Layout Design |
| 4 | Matthew Hickey | Booking |
| 5 | Mason Jennings | Composer, Engineer, Primary Artist, Producer |
| 6 | Kelly Perkins | Management |
| 7 | Frank Riley | Booking |
| 8 | Scott Soens | Photography |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |