I don't know how Jude Davison does it but while other artists scrimp and save to get enough money to put out a modest EP, he somehow scores the resources to release a lavishly packaged double CD set and still have enough left over to plan theatrical shows with a ten piece band. Not only that, but this is the 19th full length album by the Canada-based artist.
Outskirts of Eden is a sprawling work containing 27 songs and boasts an impressive 28 page colour booklet featuring stylish artwork from Arizonian photographer and digital artist Eric Vondy.
As with the album that immediately preceded it - Circo de Teatro - Davison remains true to a belief in the old adage that variety is the spice of life.
But, unlike the Circo album, Outskirts of Eden has no overriding theme to tie all the various parts together unless you think anything that happens in our decadent society after Adam and Eve counts as a concept.
There is plenty of heart and musical versatility on this record but very little in the way of soul. Americana tunes like Medicine Show, Red Dirt Heart and Gypsy Wind work best but you can't help feeling these songs are merely exercises in style .
It might have worked better if there was more humour but this too is in short supply. Tattoo Town is a mildly amusing song about getting then regretting a tattoo ("she may be gone but she's still right there on my back") but a title like Justin Bieber's Dad turns out to be a throwaway novelty number without a punch line.
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Davison's roving eclectic eye lingers on many genres including country, jazz, blues, folk, pop and r'n'b but these are like diverse components to a show in which original plans to stick to a straight plot have long been abandoned.
You are likely to conclude that Davison is a talented multi-instrumentalist and a half way decent singer but that self-editing is certainly not his strong point.
Consumption in small doses is recommended for healthy digestion. I listened to it in its entirety (all 1 hour 42 mins of it) and was left feeling bloated, confused and ultimately bored.
Jude Davison's Website
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