Jack Logan/Bob Kimbell – Little Private Angel
Fans of Athens, Georgia, mechanic-turned-songwriter Jack Logan generally fall into two camps. On the one hand, there are those who gravitate toward Logan the do-it-yourself storyteller, whose shadow-filled sketches of prairie desolation and gothic paranoia are created with subtle, painterly strokes. Then again, other folks prefer Logan the ringleader, who regularly gathers his musician pals together to wallow in boozy three-chord bluster and searing rock ‘n’ roll.
While both Logans exert a strong pull on Little Private Angel, what’s most striking about the album is how well it navigates the middle ground between those two approaches. A collaboration between Logan (who wrote the lyrics and vocal melodies) and Indiana-based songwriter Bob Kimbell (who composed the music and plays most of the instruments), this collection of songs is a decidedly nonextravagant affair, which is not to say it is frivolous or insubstantial. When listened to in full, the album leaves one with the sense of having heard an acoustically inclined garage band fronted by two gifted singer-songwriters.
Running a narrow gamut from majestic balladry (“Nerves Of Steel”) to jaunty pop-rock (“Fire On The Boat”), and even an excursion into blue-eyed funk (“220 Volts), Little Private Angel dips a toe into just enough styles to keep things interesting. Throughout, the songs teem with vocal harmonies that are downright spine-tingling; in fact, one is occasionally put in mind of such heralded duos as the Everly Brothers. Moreover, Logan’s work with Kimbell relies less on the apprentice charm that characterized his previous albums, and more on a sound that’s relaxed, confident, and fully developed.
Many folks know the story of Logan’s brief run at becoming a critically acclaimed songwriter and a media darling. Free of publicity machinery and concentrating once more on what he loves, his best work may yet lie ahead.