With Rick Rubin at the controls for his first solo project, Jakob Dylan takes it back to basics. Similar to what Rubin did for Johnny Cash on his later recordings, Rubin & Dylan stripped down the sound to it's bare bones on Seeing Things. The new work is largely an acoustic affair which focuses on the strong songwriting and imagery of the singer. Being the offspring of one of the finest and acclaimed songwriters in music history is a tough act to follow, but Jakob does have those Dylan genes after all, and is quite capable of weaving a tale himself as he shows on 'Seeing Things'.Whether its singing of the plight of the American heartland ..."Here on the surface the earth looks round, but it's godless city of cold flat ground" on the track "Will It Grow" or tackling the Iraq War on "Valley of the Low Sun" Dylan seems at home in his new styling. Two of the strongest tracks actually bookend the album, the melancholy opener "Evil Is Alive and Well" and the rootsy "This End of The Telescope".
'Seeing Things' shows a new refreshing sound For Dylan, and leaves us curious if it is one that he'll continue to pursue, either in future solo projects or with the Wallflowers?
Listen to Jakob Dylan on Myspace.
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