CD Reviews- Emma Jacob- 2232 Miles

The Background:
Emma Mae Jacob grew up in Costa Mesa, Calif., and as a child, she enjoyed listening to Aretha Franklin and Patsy Cline. She took vocal lessons from the legendary Seth Riggs- she once ran into Ray Charles at a lesson- and earned a spot as first soprano in the Pacific Symphony Children's Choir. At age 11, she sang a Franklin song, "You're All I Need to Get By," on Showtime at the Apollo and received a standing ovation. The family was living in Colfax, Calif., when Jacob and her parents took over the ownership of a local theatre owned by Jacob's grandfather. Music producer Paul Worley heard her perform there and encouraged her to move to Nashville. Worley also pitched a song that would become the teenager's first single, "What If We Fly," included on her debut album, Breaking All the Rules, in 2008. Her new digital album on the Black River Music Group label is titled 2,232 Miles. The album represents the distance between Emma Jacob’s hometown in California and Nashville, Tennessee

The Review:
Dolly Parton once said that “country music is ordinary stories told by extraordinary people.” For young Emma Jacob, she has half of this equation nailed. She has the pipes for the job- Jacob is a very talented vocalist. Anyone who has seen her perform live (as I have on multiple occasions) knows that she has a big strong voice that has a Rebecca Lynn Howard type of sassy inflection. The part she is missing on the album, however, is the story part. Her label-mate, Sarah Darling came out with an album in 2009 that was full of great storytelling of personal and revealing prose that gave some insight into her own soul. On 2,232 Miles, Jacob is more the performer instead of the songwriter/storyteller. And as a perfomer, she does terrific. But it sure would be nice to have both sides of that coin. ”Julianna” is the lead single from the album and easily the one big exception to the comments above. It’s a story of woman empowerment that has a strong protagonist in a story of esteem, personal validation and the ability to feel beautiful. “Julianna, you don’t have to do that to be loved, Julianna, Oh I wish you knew you were enough.” The Rachel Proctor penned “Didn’t I” also turns the camera inwards on a song about love lost- but not too personally. It seems a little more about hitting notes than revealing her soul. And on an album with a title that represents her journey from Northern California girl to Nashville star potential, that’s the story I want to hear in some of the songs. What she has created is a showcase for her vocals and some fun uptempo dance numbers like “Sunday Paper”- a fun blow-off song of all the places her man should put his apology including billboards, informercials and the newspaper. Overall, it’s a good album that has signs of lots of potential from Jacob. She’s worked extensively with longtime and celebrated Nashville songwriter Karen Staley and hopefully, with more time with great songwriters like her and more life experience in Music City, we’ll hear more of Jacob in her music.

Sounds Like:
Sass Jordan and Rebecca Lynn Howard

Track Highlights (suggested iPod adds):
Julianna
Wrong
Sunday Paper

The Verdict:
Two & A Half Stars Out Of Five