Jon T Howard Time For Something New CD

Jon T. Howard spent part of his youth in Dallas, which seems to qualify him as a Texas singer/songwriter in the tradition of Steve Earle. He sounds a bit more like Steve Forbert, however, with his gravelly voice. Time for Something New is an effective collection that touches some of the usual bases for singer/songwriters, with Howard contributing his observations on world affairs on "In the Eyes of Love," but spending most of his time on affairs of the heart, which don't sound like they're going all that well. Indeed, the title song is an account of being dumped. Howard sings of his father on "Corpus Christi" and elsewhere describes the down-and-out lives of other characters in his story-songs. His songs are craftsmanlike, and one can imagine one or two of them sneaking into the country charts if recorded by a more mainstream country artist. But the Texas singer/songwriter field is a crowded one that contains many talents more distinguished than his. ~ William Ruhlmann

Personnel: Jon T. Howard (acoustic guitar); Greg Krueger (electric guitar); Paul Bryan (bass guitar); Duke Levine (electric guitar, lap steel guitar, National guitar, baritone guitar, mandola); Stephanie Winters (cello); Ben Wisch (harmonium, Wurlitzer organ, background vocals); Shawn Pelton (drums, percussion, loops); Glenn Patscha, Amy Helm (background vocals).

Recording information: Red House Studios, Greenwich Village.