Jacob Anthony Butler achieves on his latest More To Offer CD an emotional honesty within a warm, pristine sound. He milks each vocal note in his singer-songwriter approach as each of his support players do so on their instruments. Good to the last drop might be a way to describe it. This is just one of those albums that sound so good you want to savor every note, especially if you’re going through the same experiences as the songwriter was while he was writing each of these songs.
Opening track “All The Right Things” finds Butler applying his ever so smooth vocal to wringing the warmth out of his tender lyrics. He gives this tune the needed emotive quality to convey the yearning for love theme. Cooing, his voice hums like a saxophone before he glides right back into his lyrical delivery. Alto saxophonist Sarah Hughes makes a graceful appearance, helping to carry this sweet tune along with her ever so just right touches.
“Never Told You” has an even quieter backdrop, letting Butler’s vocal fill up the space left open by his acoustic guitar and David Von Vorst’s fretless bass. The singer pours his heart into this one and his voice is special as it glides over subtle touches from the two instruments.
Butler turns Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love” into a piano ballad, with a little help from his piano and cello. The multi-instrumentalist infuses this ballad too with his charming vocal presence, coaxing plenty of melody and emotion out of his vocal line. Support from lead guitarist Andy Santospago shines with a classic rock eagerness, spreading the sound out a little, building a wider feeling. Bass player Erik Wendelken adds a lot of depth to the left hand notes on the piano, combining into a deeper, more palpable backdrop.
Butler wades right back into original territory with his “I’ll Get By,” a sorrowful but somehow also beautiful song about someone who is missing someone while she’s away. As a songwriter, he relates well to the modern relationship, asking someone on Facebook how their day went. He moves onto expressing his feelings for the one who is away. Butler’s mellifluous voice, Sarah Hughes’ alto sax, and Mollie Glazer’s moody cello express the bittersweet emotions well here, combining their textures into one solid feeling that a listener cannot deny. All the players inject bits of emotive quality underneath the main drama to create something fully felt and fully heard.
Butler tackles Billy Joel’s “The Downeaster Alexa” with a steady confidence. He conjures the mood of someone cruising on a peaceful water body while contemplating one’s current predicament. His emotive, considerate vocal approach finds a good home alongside his own moody cello, rising above other contemporary singer-songwriter fair as he takes the listener some place personal and alone, even though he’s interpreting someone else’s lyrics.
Title track More To Offer is a speedy, up tempo tune. Spiced with nuggets of acoustic guitar, mandolin, lap steep, forlorn cello phrases, knobby upright bass notes and adept drumming, it’s a startling contrast between racing melodic instruments and the swaying approach from the rest of the player. This contrast builds a strong platform for Butler to croon over. His steady vocal flow over rippling notes weaves a strong fabric, making for another winsome tune.
Butler‘s “It’s Over Love” is a smoky, jazzy piece buttressed by Ty Sheets’ muted trumpet. Here, the singer shows more of his hip side, easing in and out of the spaces created by the groove. His voice milks the emotions out of each lyric with a soulful aplomb found in the most professional singers in this genre.
“Last Call” is an edgier singer-songwriter tune with a roots feel. Listeners will dig Andy Santospago’s lead guitar assertions as much as Butler’s world weary lyrical approach. With a worldly, knowing view of modern life, Butler mixes it up with his support players, soulfully expressing how he feels at the end of a long day of work, day after day.
Butler closes out his highly polished singer-songwriter album with “All My Troubles.” This quiet piano ballad is a tender farewell to the listener as well as a sensitive song in it’s on right. Butler’s emotional honesty reaches the listener with a universal experience. He also makes it sound beautiful with his especially emotive vocal charm. A listener cannot but feel what the song is about.
Butler has achieved something special here. He owes much thanks to his producer Victor Ferrantella for a high quality sound. Yet, Butler has come up with a emotionally honest album that displays the full strength of his voice while remaining a solid piece of ear candy.
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