Since the early '70s, when every singer/songwriter with an acoustic guitar was dubbed a new Bob Dylan, relatively few emerging musical artists have dared adopt the verbose style so successfully pursued by Dylan in the mid-'60s. That makes Joe Nolan something of a throwback. You aren't more than a few seconds into any song on his self-released debut album Plain Jane before the acoustic guitar, the wailing harmonica, the adenoidal voice, and, particularly, the wordy lyrics begin to remind you strongly of the Bob Dylan of 1965's Bringing It All Back Home. For a change of pace, Nolan can take the beat slightly more up-tempo, add a flute, and sound like Moondance-era Van Morrison on "Rush Hour Blues," but for the most part he models himself so obsessively on Dylan that it's hard to think of his music separate from its primary antecedent. He is a bit more earnest than the caustic, world-weary Dylan of 1965 tended to be, but the relentless onrush of words makes his songs less, not more, meaningful, as he is clearly far more interested in getting to the next rhyme or cultural reference than he is in telling his stories. You might think that after 35 years enough time would have passed for such an approach to sound fresh again. But, actually, Dylan remains such a pervasive influence on popular music that so slavish an imitation can sound only like what it is. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
Charlie Chadwick (Bass), Keith Compton (Mastering), Pat Flynn (Banjo), Pat Flynn (Guitar), Pat Flynn (Vocals), Pat Flynn (Producer), Dave Francis (Bass), Don Gleicher (Guitar), Don Gleicher (Vocals), Jim Hoke (Clarinet), Jim Hoke (Flute), Jim Hoke (Accordion), Cactus Moser (Percussion), Dave Pomeroy (Bass), Barry Ray (Guitar), Barry Ray (Vocals), David Schoenfeld (Drums), Jerry Schoenfeld (Bass), Jerry Schoenfeld (Keyboards), Jerry Schoenfeld (Vocals), Bobby Warren (Percussion), Pat Bergeson (Harmonica), John Tramper (Mandolin), Dennis Wage (Organ), Joe Nolan (Guitar), Joe Nolan (Harmonica), Joe Nolan (Vocals), Joe Nolan (Producer), Joe Nolan (Main Performer), Joe Nolan (Tin Whistle), Joe Nolan (Art Direction), Joe Nolan (Cover Collage)
Plain Jane usually refers either to a woman who tends to avoid using makeup, fussing with her hair, and wearing stylish clothing, or to a woman who does, but simply is of average or unexceptional appearance. The term is thought to have spawned from the character of Jane Eyre in popular Victorian author, Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. The character of Jane Eyre had attended Lowood Institution, a school that enforced conformity and plainness amongst its students.[1]
References
^Charlotte Brontë (1899). Jane Eyre. Harper & Brothers.
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