Album Review – Jason Eady’s “To The Passage of Time”
The listening room saying “Shut up and listen” was coined for guys like Jason Eady. It would be a cardinal sin to sully a performance from this sage of singer/songwriter country with something as meaningless as idle chatter. Jason Eady doesn’t deliver songs. He delivers sermons—little slice-of-life lessons with wisdom to unravel. This isn’t entertainment. It’s church. So yeah, you best shut up, lean in, and listen, or you will miss something much more valuable than just a song.
A gorgeously-crafted record of purposeful expressions, Jason Eady’s latest called To The Passage of Time begins and ends with the moaning tone of a steel guitar filling your ears. In between, Eady employs an economy of words and sounds to encapsulate life lessons and impart perspective through stories and rhyme. Along with the lack of pretentiousness is a lack of embellishment, aside from clean and rich audio signals throughout. These are just the raw songs. But every word and tone is as imperative as it is warm and enveloping.
Where his last record I Travel On took advantage of bluegrass pickers Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley to put a little gas behind his original works, this one is more indicative of earlier Eady albums, like 2014’s Daylight & Dark, or his self-titled record from 2017. A small team of collaborators, including Geoff Queen on steel and dobro, Noah Jeffries on mandolin and fiddle, Brian Ferguson on drums, Mark Williams on bass and cello, and harmony vocals by Jamie Lin Wilson and wife Courtney Patton help bring the album to life.
You can’t help but wonder if the muse for the opening song “Nothing On You” is wife Courtney Patton. Another one of the album’s standout tracks also is about a strong woman protagonist, called “The Luxury of Dreaming,” speaking to a life of quiet desperation that so many can identify with. Even the songs that maybe don’t have some prophetic lesson to take away, and just tell a simply country story such as “Gainesville,” still ring significant from the scarcity of arrangement exploring the open space. Even though it’s a song that feels like it could call for so much more, it’s just the tapping of Eady’s toe, an acoustic guitar, and a little harmony.
But the song that everyone has been talking about, and probably will continue to well beyond the life cycle of this record or any other, is Jason Eady’s ode to the fallen, “French Summer Sun,” co-written with Drew Kennedy. Originally released in June ahead of the album, it’s had us all cutting onions ever since, and only resonates more deeply in light of current events in Kabul.
Cueing up this new Jason Eady record and even knowing what’s coming, “French Summer Sun” still evokes chill bumps and misty eyes. Then you hit repeat, and it’s magic is just as potent. It’s not just the story (no spoilers here), the way Eady crafts the perfect little melody to accompany it, and talks instead of sings is the expert approach to bring the magic out of this song—a song you get the sense isn’t just the best of this record, or perhaps the best of this year, or even the best of Eady’s accomplished songwriting career. It’s one of those all-time songs from anyone.
But Jason Eady’s To The Passage of Time will not be for everyone. It challenges the audience to pay attention, and to listen deeper. Those with patience will be handsomely rewarded. Those who just want to blast some tunes during the daily commute, or while out by the lake on a Saturday night, they might remark it puts them to sleep.
Jason Eady is long past caring about keeping up with the kids though. He’s found the kind of equilibrium that is the envy of many songwriters and performers where the song is always first, not some underlying career objective or financial goal. As long as the bills get paid, he’s perfectly fine playing his songs for whomever is willing to listen. And those willing to listen will be rewarded with way more than just a few enjoyable songs.
8/10
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Purchase from Jason Eady
August 27, 2021 @ 9:32 am
One of my favorite artist, love the new album????????
August 27, 2021 @ 9:44 am
I’m haven’t quite listened to all of it yet, and I saw a couple other new releases on Apple I want to tour, but I’m pretty sure this will be my most listened to release of this week. Jason’s writing is always worthy of attention, and his tunes buzz right along, providing a suitable setting. I doubt it’ll unseat “All Your Stones”, but it’s in my top drawer for the year.
August 27, 2021 @ 10:07 am
Very good album.
10 tracks & no track feels like an album filler.
My highlights: “Possibilities”, “The Luxury Of Dreaming” & the title track (“To The Passage Of Time”).
One little point…a little more variety in the tempo department next time please.
More Good Music:
Michael Waugh – The Cast – Album (13 Tracks) – Released (08/27)
You can’t get enough of fine storytelling?
Here we go!
(Parts of) Australia is (are) in an endless lockdown & when you listen to current releases you can hear it.
Dark themed songs, radio friendly tracks but with a message, angry artists, personal losses, pushed back album releases, cancelled festivals…it’s not ending.
One of the results is The Cast. It’s his fourth album (since his debut in 2016).
With every album MW reaches a new level. As a singer & as a songwriter.
His singles get radio support & appear on the (more traditional) Country Songs Top 40 & fan voted charts.
My highlights: the single “Flying”, “Butchering Day”, “Irrigation Channel”, the duet with the wonderfull Felicity Urquhart “Too Many Drawers” & “Hold On To The Ones You Love”.
“Too Many…” & “Hold On…” sound like future hits.
August 27, 2021 @ 10:48 am
In a league of his own.
August 27, 2021 @ 10:52 am
It’s no mistery i love this guy.
A true carrier of the glorious texas singer/songwriter tradition.
I also love the sound of this album, so real.
August 27, 2021 @ 10:54 am
Perfect review. Always appreciate how rock-solid Eady is.
August 27, 2021 @ 11:25 am
I really like this guy. He always give what you expect and its never disappointing. This makes three in a row that he’s knocked it out of the park. That’s only because I haven’t heard his older stuff, yet.
Great review, Trigger.
August 27, 2021 @ 12:32 pm
This is album of the year contender, right here.
8/10 feels like a cheat in a review that mentioned no negatives or downsides other than “Those who just want to blast some tunes during the daily commute, or while out by the lake on a Saturday night, they might remark it puts them to sleep.” Since when have you ever cared about listeners who “just want to blast some tunes”?
August 28, 2021 @ 9:15 am
I stand by Trigger with that statement, Eady consistently sings like he is commentating a golf event.
August 28, 2021 @ 9:37 am
There’s two separate discussions here. One would be an artistic criticism of Jason Eady’s music, and the other would be a commentary on the accessibility of it. I personally see no problem with Jason Eady’s patient, purposeful, quiet style of music making. But I also recognize that the average listener may not be patient enough to listen and find the value in his music. I’m simply trying to be honest about that assessment. If anything it’s a criticism of the audience, not Jason Eady. But it’s a fair concern nonetheless.
August 28, 2021 @ 12:57 pm
I gotta agree with Saracen on this one. To detract from the rating as a “criticism of his audience” seems capricious and arbitrary.”. But, hey, it’s your site, yo. You do you.
BTW, Matty, nice screen name. Love the obscure FNL reference.
August 28, 2021 @ 1:08 pm
Okay, well once again, we’re getting things mixed up here. I never said I deducted from the rating because passive listeners wouldn’t like it. I was attempting to disassociate an observation about how the album isn’t what I would consider “accessible” from a criticism of Jason Eady’s singing style.
I hate when folks get hung up on a rating. A rating is 4 to 5 characters. This album review is eight paragraphs. The entire theme and thread running throughout the review is about how listeners are rewarded by taking the time and patience to actually listen to Jason Eady, and those that don’t are missing out on “way more than just a few enjoyable songs,” as the review concludes. What I tried to do with this review was to persuade people to listen by making the fair observation that music like this isn’t exactly the infectious type of stuff that pulls you right in.
August 27, 2021 @ 2:25 pm
Heard a song off the album on the radio today, it was real nice, definitely going to check the whole album!
August 27, 2021 @ 2:56 pm
How does this rank with other Eady albums? I gotta flesh out my Texas singer/songwriter collection.
Thanks!
August 27, 2021 @ 4:38 pm
Really can’t go wrong with any of them. As I tried to explain in the review, if you like this style of more stripped-down singer/songwriter stuff, check out his self-titled album and “Daylight & Dark.” If you want something with a little more gas, try his last record “I Travel On.” He also has an album with his wife Courtney Patton “Something Together.”
August 28, 2021 @ 6:27 am
AM Country Heaven is his best album IMO. Daylight & Dark is great as well.
August 27, 2021 @ 7:19 pm
Jason’s low on my list for personal reasons, but I’ll be damned if you weren’t spot on regarding French Summer Sun. I’ll give the album a shot.
August 27, 2021 @ 7:45 pm
Solid Texas songwriter.
August 27, 2021 @ 8:02 pm
I will have to pick this one up. Anytime he drops an album it is a must by for me. Saw him in concert a few years ago and he puts on a great show. Great guy too, talked to him a bit after the show.
August 28, 2021 @ 6:24 am
I’ve been a big fan of Jason’s since AM Country Heaven. I picked up his earlier albums at that point, and have followed him since. As much as I love Jason’s music, his last couple albums have seemed to miss the magic of his earlier ones. I don’t know if it’s the shift away from electric guitars and that traditional style of country music to a more Americana acoustic sound, but they just haven’t appealed to me as much as his earlier stuff. This album is Jason’s best in at least 3 or 4 albums with a bit of a return to his old sound. It’s not AM Country Heaven or Daylight and Dark, but I’m enjoying it quite a bit.
August 28, 2021 @ 8:59 pm
I love Eady and this one is right up there. But I have to admit that I don’t get “French Summer Sun” at all. I find it cringe-worthy and can’t hit the skip button fast enough.
November 18, 2021 @ 7:34 am
It’s been quite some time since a song literally stopped me in my tracks. “French Summer Sun” did that the first time I heard it, and in fact every time since. Simply outstanding.
July 25, 2022 @ 1:43 am
Finally listened to this from beginning to end, which makes no sense since he is one of my favorite artists. Great album from start to finish. Back To Normal is my favorite track. Today.
Produced by Gordy Quist. Another of my favorite artists.