Cara Jones

Album Reviews and
Artist Reflections

Image © 2000 Cara Jones Photo credit Mark Robert Halper

We asked Cara about her background. She told us, "I was born and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia but can never seem to stay in one place for too long, so when it was time to go to college, I went to Boston. I was positive I wanted to pursue music and only music as my "career", but I still had to major in some academic field in order to graduate from this university I had been lucky enough to get into." Cara went to Harvard—in the university town of Cambridge—outside of central Boston. She continued, "So I messed around for a few years just taking anything that seemed interesting, plannning on declaring a "concentration" in my junior [3rd] year."

As the rest of the story unfolded, a description of her connection with Japan began to emerge, "While I was taking random fascinating courses, I stumbled upon a class called Japanese History: from the Jomon to the Meiji Restoration; it was basically an overview of about two thousand years of the history of that area." She told us, "A well-known translator, my professor was also a complete eccentric who would dress up in the garb of a Buddhist monk on the day he talked about religion. He would scrawl Japanese-looking squiggly things on the blackboard whenever he mentioned a name. And stuff like that." She reflected, "It wasn't until years later that I looked at my notebook and where I had diligently copied down all the squiglies Prof Saunders wrote and realized they were complete gibberish. I asked around and found out he had the worst handwriting of anyone in the field!"

Cara was hooked on the Japanese after that one class. She continued the story, "I started taking Japanese language courses—and when I think about it now, it was probably to decipher the squiglies—that summer at Harvard Summer School. By my junior year I made lists of the courses I'd taken so far. The list included: Criminology, Existentialism, Fine Arts and, since the Japanese list was the longest by one course, I decided to major in Japanese."

Image © 1999 Morani/Warner

After finishing her undergraduate university degree, Cara decided to remain in Cambridge to pursue her masters degree. Recalling the reasons for doing so, she told us, "I was terrified of jumping into music, they offered me a scholarship and I loved the idea of staying in Cambridge—which is incredible—without getting a "real" job." Cara was intent on pursuing a music career. She told us, "I realized I had to start making preparations for my career in music, so instead of jumping head-first into the ever-burgeoning singer-songwriter circle in Cambridge, I took the "academic" route and got jobs in every aspect of the "biz" so I could learn how it worked."

Cara's plans paid off. She said, "I worked at Rounder Records in the promotions department. I started doing the Folk Show every Friday at WHRB—Harvard's commmercial radio station—where I ended up interviewing lots and lots of soon-to-be-famous artists, like Shawn Colvin, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Cheryl Wheeler, Patty Larkin, and more." She continued to branch out. She said, "I got into promoting and producing concerts in Boston and Cambridge. The final class I took in my own school of music was in band management, where I helped put together and manage a really cool, rootsy band. In fact, we ended up getting David Lindley to produce our demos!"

The final move to Japan came in a simple turn of events linking to her radio station work. She said, "I was at WHRB doing my Friday Folkways show, and the PD called me into his office cause two Japanese radio producers were there and he wanted me to interpret. We ended up hitting it off, and one of them told me if I ever wanted to go to Japan she'd introduce me around. So when the band broke up just short of signing with Atlantic, I did."

We asked Cara about artists that had influenced her songwriting. She told us, "Growing up, there was no one bigger to me than Janis Ian. I discovered her music a little late, but got straight into the Society's Child album and was hooked. Of course, "At Seventeen" was my anthem." She continued, "I loved all the singer-songwriter music of the 70s and 80s: Carly Simon, James Taylor, Karla Bonoff, and others. I think Shawn Colvin and company are kind of a more modern extension of that."

Image © 2000 Fall Girl Records

Different Skies. Cara Jones' debut album was released on an independent Japanese label and was quickly scooped up by enthusiasts there. It actually disappeared from the shelves within a few short months of its 1994 release. A US reissue on Fall Girl Records is planned. Since no copies are available at this time, Cara provided us with a six-track promo of her favourite tracks from the album to review.

It is easy to understand why the album sold out so quickly. People have raved about Cara's voice and if the hit rate on her mp3.com website is any indication, they still do. One is immediately drawn to the crystalline texture of Cara's voice—"a high clear voice that soared rather than sang, as if dancing across the sky," is what Goro Nakagawa wrote. The songwriting and production is equally impressive. Instrumental arrangements are simple yet effective in producing a relaxing sound certain to please easy listening, light rock and folk enthusiasts.

Layers of backing vocals add texture rather than instruments in several of the tracks. In "Far Away" the backing vocals supporting Cara's tender lead actually produce a calling texture often delivered with a low whistle or flute part. Lush keyboards contribute to the lovely arrangement. Arrangements on the title track blend acoustic guitar, keyboard and sax in a sensually sung ballad. The lightly rocking track "Connecticut" illustrates Cara's ability to use her voice as an instrument, effectively contributing to the overall arrangement. The piano bar style ballad "I Thought I Was Over You" is a classic and sensitively sung love song. Cara's vocals continue to soar in the lightly rocking and evocative track "Lover's Lies."

Now Album Cover (US Release) Image © 2000 Fall Girl Records

We learned that Cara began writing songs in her teens. She told us, "they were modeled after the artists I loved, and written on a little classical guitar I had found when cleaning out my best friend's basement, which her mom gave to me as payment." She told us about her initial musical foundations, "I grew up with a grandmother who played piano, and I studied from age 5 to age 10 when I quit in rebellion." Cara told us that she regrets having done so and continued, "After my first album, though, I realized I was better suited to piano than guitar, and so I started taking lessons, and eventually wrote most of the songs on my next two albums on the piano."

Image © 1996 Teichiku Records

Pandora's Box. Cara had wanted to do an acoustic-pop collection for her debut album but in a compromise with the label that saw Cara more as a dance artist—hence the remixes on the debut—produced a more eclectic and lushly produced sound. With the success of the debut album and a new label, her second album focused on acoustic-pop tracks but also includes a couple with electric guitar and high quality rock production. The album was recorded in Dublin, Ireland where she worked with producer Jimmy Smyth and the Mary Black band. Cara's love for Ireland is evident in the green used in the album cover.

Image © 1999 Morani/Warner

Cara finds vocal inspiration in other areas as well. She told us, "I also frequent Kripalu Center for Yoga in the beautiful Berkshire mountains of Massachussetts, where I have taken several rather transformative vocalizing/toning/sounding workshops. My piano teacher, Mark Kelso, is up there too." We found her reflection on radio performance very intriguing. She told us, "I actually think the most helpful thing for me was being on the radio. With your face pressed into a mic, and headphones on, you can really hear exactly what you're doing, and what you're doing wrong. The more I did radio, the more I was able to create the voice I wanted. And I found the same principles applied to singing."

Cara continued, "Michael and John had worked with Steve on several projects by the Irish band Solas, and the two had just started their own studio, having left Sigma Sound—of Philly Soul fame. Bassist Chico Huff was also a friend, and the four of us basically did the record. Michael played almost everything—he's the Jon Brion of Philadelphia—and we co-wrote a few songs too. We worked from March through December of last year and have only just completed mastering the American release." Cara concluded, "It's the album I always wanted to make. Michael and John knew exactly what I wanted, and more importantly, were able to bring out what I never thought possible."

Now Album Cover (Japan) Image © 1999 Fall Girl Records

Now. The eleven tracks on Cara's latest album are much more in a traditional rock vein than those on her former albums. Instrumentals blend electric guitar, keyboards, bass and crisp percussion with layers of pop-oriented vocals certain to please a broad range of female vocal enthusiasts.

The difference in the album's sound is evident from the opening track "Spit It Out" where extensive instrumental arrangements, dominated by piano melodies and echoing guitar parts, lead the way. Vocals are heavily layered, especially when compared to the former albums. Layers continue into the slower paced "River High" with it's striking guitar riffs. The short track "Candy Bar" is a very accessible—radio ready—pop tune with a heavily produced instrumental that supports a sensual lead vocal and extensively layered backing harmonies. "See It My Way" is written and performed in a similar, but almost dance-oriented, pop-R&B style.

In contrast to the more heavily rocking numbers, the album features some classic Cara Jones-style vocally intense ballads. Characterised by her sensitively soaring vocal lead and light mainly-acoustic instrumental arrangements, these songs include "Stay" and "Heaven's Waiting." The lounge-style romantic ballad "Settle For Love" is wrenched with emotionally delivered vocals and supported by modern electronic instrumentation.

In between the rocking numbers and ballads are the album's light rock tunes. Structured similarly to "Candy Bar" but instrumentally lighter, these include the tracks "Choose" and "1999." "Better Safe Than Sorry" features a rock and roll-style guitar tune, but Cara's lead vocal has been mixed way up and the track further demonstrates her vocal dexterity. We especially enjoyed "Golden Thread;" a Middle-Eastern musical flavour is achieved by blending exotic sounding instrumentals with traditional and acoustic electric guitar parts and a range of evocative vocal styles, soaring most sensually in the song's chorus.

Cara told us about her live performances, "In Japan, I have mostly performed in large concert halls, although recently my band has been playing at the Blues Alley Japan club in Meguro, Tokyo. The walls of this cool club are covered in the artwork of Miles Davis, who played there not long before he died. We're playing there again on 10/10/2000."

We asked Cara about the influence of the web on her career. She finds it an incredible resource, "I think we're still at the very most embryonic stages of its development, and most people have only glimpsed its vast potential, but I think it is eventually going to be a medium as important as TV or radio in the promotion of music, and in its introduction to new listeners.

Image © 2000 Cara Jones | Photo credit Mark Robert Halper

Cara concluded by reflecting on the aims of her official website, "I see that site more as information for those who already know of me. People go there from MP3.com, as well as from the sites of artists I have been musically involved with. I would like to promote it more, though!"