Jon Brion
Rewind to 1994 and check out “Nothing Between Us” (The Grays Ro Sham Bo) a ballad of the first order of love. Jon Brion evokes some of the Paul McCartney feel and sound, which wouldn’t be a bad thing for other young singers and performers. Brion’s high, clear voice presages a number of new-century male singers as well.
In fact, Brion makes no effort to hide the influence of The Beatles. “Oh yeah… and that’s the primary obvious one. And I’m embarrassed by how inescapable it is for me.”
Now based in Los Angeles, Brion hails from New Jersey. He made the long trip to the California city years ago and along the way worked with Fiona Apple and Sean Lennon, among many others. If you want a good taste of what Jon Brion is all about, try “Hook Line Sinker” from Meaningless. This fellow plays a number of instruments and is a solid studio presence as well. His recordings are indicative of the professional ear Brion has.
Keyboards play a huge part in Brion’s music, of course. Check out the Eleanor Rigby sound on “Here We Go” or the honky-tonk feel of “Do Nothing Til You Hear From Me.” Fiona Apple must be proud of this one!
Tags: indie music, indie, independent music, music, Jon Brion
Two things:
1. Jon Brion is one of the greatest musicians alive. Simple.
2. Just to be clear, this article doesn’t really specifically say this, but “Do Nothin’ Till’ You Hear From Me” is NOT a Jon Brion original, he’s covering a Duke Ellington song with Fiona as far as I know.
I can really hear the Paul McCartney influence. His songs are nice as smooth and you can really relax to them as well. He reminds me of a James Murdoch, a singer based from Edmonton.
I’m a Paul McCartney fan, and can hear the influence when I hear Jon Brion sing. It’s refreshing to hear that influence in his voice from someone from a younger generation. (younger than McCartney)
I listened to ‘Here We Go’ and didn’t pick up very much Eleanor Rigby when I listened to it. Maybe it’s just me though.
I’ve always said that The Beatles have some big shoes to fill, and so far no one has really compared in my opinion. There are thousands and thousands who still try to emulate then, and a lot of them fail. Bristol though, may just be a bit different. Definitely worth checking out as he has his own style as well.