Album Review – Jesse Daniel’s “Beyond These Walls”
In country music, one way to consider the quality of a song or album is to ask yourself what a country legend might feel about it. In the case of Jesse Daniel’s Beyond The Walls, I feel confident Tom T. Hall and Don Williams would approve of the way it helps reset your perspective on the simpler things in life. I believe George Strait and Alan Jackson would appreciate the way Jesse takes a straight-laced, straightforward approach to country. When it comes to what the legendary Raul Malo of The Mavericks, we don’t have to assume what he thinks of Jesse Daniel veering into Tejano on this record. By appearing on it himself, we know Raul approves.
Jesse Daniel was the former punk rocker and drug addict that used country music to clean up and point his nose in the right direction. That created a ton of intrigue and interesting content for his first couple of records. But the next question is, what do you write about when you’ve giving up all your rowdy ways, and resigned to a much more quiet, simple, dare we say ‘boring’ life? Well the answer is you write about that, and the virtues that lay within this change of pace.
This is what you’re greeted with in the first portions of Jesse’s third album Beyond These Walls—a song called “Simple Things,” another about simply lounging around in “Texas Summer Night,” and another about wasting time fishing called “Drop A Line.” These songs aren’t about much, but then again, they’re about everything important, which is slowing down, appreciating life, and enjoying the easy pleasures time on Earth affords as opposed to letting envy and anger get the best of you.
Along with delivering these important resets on perspective, Jesse Daniel also delivers a downright honky-tonk scorcher in “Think I’ll Stay.” Though it may not seem like anything super special at first, utilizing time-tested modes and turns, Jesse turns in a song you’re liable to put your boot through the floor stomping out the beat to if you’re not careful. This might be the best song to two-step to released in the last few years.
And for an album that marks one of its greatest assets as its adherence to the roots of country music, it actually has an extra dose of spice. It’s not strange to find a country record these days that has some silly pseudo-Mexican ode about getting smashed across the border. But instead of just adding a little accordion and maracas to a country song and slipping in references to “Cervezas,” Jesse Daniel actually writes and sings an entire song in Spanish in the working man’s anthem “El Trabajador,” accompanied by Raul Malo himself.
He revisits this style again in the (mostly) English-sung “Soñando Contigo,” which is one of two quality love songs on the album, the other being “Angel on the Ground”—not an entirely new premise, but one Jesse revitalizes with smart writing, assisted by his real life angel in co-writer, harmony singer, and day-to-day manager Jodi Lyford. All great artists often have an ace-in-the-hole, and for Jesse, it’s Jodi.
But if we’re being honest, you begin to get a little concerned going through this album that it won’t deliver enough depth to stimulate all of the erogenous zones of your musical palette to remain in your listening rotation beyond a few spins. Songs about fishing and summer nights are fine, but may only hold your attention span for so long. And though the effort is admirable, maybe you just don’t know or appreciate the Spanish language or style enough for this wrinkle to make this country record remarkable to you.
That’s when Jesse Daniel springs on you two of the best-written songs on the record in the timely and relevant “Living in the Great Divide” about the bifurcation of America, and then the gut-punching “Gray” about that guy we all know that never gave up his rowdy ways, and pays for it more and more every day. Drawing from the wisdom of his own experiences, Jesse Daniel proves in the latter stages of this record that he’s not just an entertainer, but an artist.
And then to top it all off, Jesse Daniel ends the album with a bluegrass number in “I’ll Be Back Around.” Well-produced by Tommy Detamore and performed by a crack team of professional guys, Beyond These Walls establishes that Jesse Daniel should no longer be considered the future of country music. He should be considered the present.
1 3/4 Guns Up.
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July 30, 2021 @ 7:37 am
Sounds great. Seems to have more musical range and emotional depth than his last record. Gray, in particular, is powerful stuff.
July 30, 2021 @ 7:49 am
I am rooting for this guy!
July 30, 2021 @ 7:51 am
Very simple:
Jesse Daniel plays my kind of Country.
July 30, 2021 @ 7:58 am
I’m extremely confident you can show this record to anyone who might be the slightest bit interested in country music and they’ll enjoy something on it. There’s something for everyone and I don’t think that’s a very easy task.
July 30, 2021 @ 8:15 am
Loving what I’m hearing. I’ll be seeing Jesse and Jodi in Costa Mesa at the end of next month. Gotta catch acts like these while they’re still playing dives.
July 30, 2021 @ 8:51 am
production is a little too slick for my liking. bring some of that punk rock attitude and grime. maybe better in a live setting.
July 30, 2021 @ 10:50 am
I know a lot of this comes down to personal preference but I love how clean the production is and honestly think it makes it more unique. If you want and independent country album that sounds gritty and grimy I don’t think you have to look that far
July 31, 2021 @ 8:52 am
This is always a weird criticism to me. There’s nothing wrong with highly skilled professionals showing that they are in fact highly skilled.
August 2, 2021 @ 8:40 am
When people say things like “the production is too slick” it can mean any number of things. I love “good” production too, but what does that even mean? It’s subjective.
I think with this particular album, when people say “too slick” they aren’t just talking about the recording, mix, mastering etc. but the arrangements, lyrics, and delivery too. It’s a little hard to articulated, but everything on this one seems very rehearsed, clean, and straight forward.
August 2, 2021 @ 9:04 am
Yeah, that can mean many different things. And as far as things sounding “skilled,” a goal of music production from a sonic perspective is often clean sounds, controlled dynamics, good separation, etc. but too much of that sounds sterile. Not enough sounds muddy and cluttered, so there’s definitely a sweet spot, and having a preference doesn’t seem like a weird thing to me at all.
From a performance perspective, this album sounds a little subdued to me. Would love to hear a little more energy myself.
None of this means people won’t enjoy it and that it’s not good, but there’s nothing wrong with wishing it was a little more lively and less clinical, IMO.
August 2, 2021 @ 10:01 am
thegentile, a lot of Jesse Daniel’s first album (self-titled) was very much the gritty, punk rock/country sound you are after. Big Fish, Soft Spot for the Hard stuff are the type of songs you’ll enjoy
July 30, 2021 @ 9:17 am
Just like Rollin’ On which was one of my best of the year, this is another excellent album with great music from start to finish! Great Country Music rolls on!
July 30, 2021 @ 9:20 am
Fantastic album. Gray has got to be a shoe in for song of the year. Great song
July 30, 2021 @ 9:40 am
I liked Jesse’s first album more than the last, I’m still giving this one a few more listens. I’m liking the more Texas sound of this album and think I will end up enjoying it more than the last one.
July 30, 2021 @ 9:47 am
Redemption is always a better story than addiciton. “Clayton Was A Cowboy” is a hoot of a song. Hoping for success for him.
July 30, 2021 @ 10:17 am
This just a really solid Country and Western project, with some rewarding side excursions. Am digging the Tejano touches, and Gray is quite poignant, like a deep and grateful look into the mirror at what might have been. Album is definitely a keeper.
Speaking of new releases, I’ve really been enjoying that EP “The Half Record” from Hannah Dasher. She’s got a cool blend of old and new going on.
July 30, 2021 @ 12:11 pm
618creekrat,
I have listened as well. Can’t say anything stands out particularly, but she is good and in today’s context I would liken her to a Luke Combs version. By that I mean still a mainstream sounds, but solid speaking is a relative sort of way.
July 30, 2021 @ 10:58 am
Gave this a full spin, first thing this morning, and I was a little let down. To my ears Daniel’s increasingly going in this squeaky-clean, old fashioned, dare I say kinda boring, direction. I don’t need every country singer to be some kind of tortured soul, but I prefer a little more grit. That said, I’m rooting for this artist. Clearly he’s dedicated to honoring the genre’s legacy.
July 30, 2021 @ 11:06 am
The first time I listened to this record I felt a similar sentiment. Second time through it grew on me a bit more. Third time through, I got it. It is pretty squeaky-clean, and some folks may just not want that from Jesse Daniel. But I think the 2nd half of this record presents more of the grit and substance you crave. This is a record that takes subsequent spins. One of my few critiques would be the track order, which might have made it easier to warm to presented differently.
July 30, 2021 @ 12:36 pm
I’ve always been curious, am I the only one on here that changes track order frequently to my own liking? I don’t do it on every album but many times I find myself thinking after a few spins “I really like this but I’m going to move this song up, those 2 down and cut that one all together” especially if I know it will be in the rotation for weeks. After only one time through I do like many of these tunes but my final order will surely be different. It’s really just personal preference but I think it matters more than people realize.
July 30, 2021 @ 1:02 pm
I’m sure a lot of people do that. I personally don’t. I trust that the artist ordered the tracks the way they thought made the most sense, according to their artistic vision (if not, why release an album at all?).
I enjoy listening to albums the whole way through, start to finish, so I’ve got this (possibly) irrational aversion to messing with track lists or even skipping tracks.
What that means though is that albums that have a few stinkers sprinkled in, are sequenced poorly, or are produced poorly, can fall right off my radar – even if there are bangers on there.
July 30, 2021 @ 12:52 pm
Off topic, but you got the new Yola album (also released today) on your radar, Trigger? As expected, it’s good, but it’s not country – mostly 70’s era easy-listening/r&b/soul (an occasional hint of pedal steel, no more).
Wouldn’t expect a review here, but it got me thinking about the diversity in country angle that’s bubbled up in the past bunch of years. Makes me wonder why Yola ditched the genre so quick on her sophomore effort after making such a big splash in the country/Americana world on her debut. I’ve got a theory but it’s not about country/Americana fans, rather the artists themselves.
July 30, 2021 @ 2:45 pm
So, let’s hear it.
July 30, 2021 @ 4:01 pm
Well, maybe it’s already obvious or perhaps even been covered by Trigger before, but country music increasingly seems like a convenient launch point for ethnic minority artists who are ultimately aiming to break into the urban/pop/dance music world rather than the country music world.
The obvious example is Lil’ Nas X who grifted his way into mainstream stardom by hijacking country music and gaslighting the scene, which ultimately resulted in gushing hyperbolic support by the mainstream media, only to immediately pivot to urban/pop/dance music – ditching country music entirely.
Yola is clearly a far more talented and genuine musician, miles above Lil Nas X, but she came from the urban/pop/dance world as a relative unknown, having previously lent her vocals to electronic/pop producers in the UK. So she pivoted to country and released a quasi-country/Americana album which (deservedly) received glowing coverage and gushing support both in the indie country/Americana scene and the mainstream media. However, now, she’s pivoted back to urban/pop/dance music – seemingly ditching country music.
So, maybe it isn’t that country music fans don’t want to support minority artists (as the mainstream media has falsely claimed) – maybe it’s that minority artists frequently don’t want to support country music. In other words, the genre is simply a vehicle for mainstream press coverage (because of the novelty of a minority artist doing country music), leading into the more lucrative world of urban/pop/dance music.
Or maybe I’m full of shit. If so, feel free to disregard.
July 31, 2021 @ 8:25 am
I get what you’re saying, and agree in the case of Lil Weasel X. He definitely played the country charts as a springboard, and managed to play the victim card at full value in the process.
I don’t see Yola in that light, though. She has a few songs I’d consider countrypolitan, but I’d say 75% of her preceding EP & LP would be ameripolitan. To me, she seems solidly americana, and the new album fits into that, just tilted to the pop/r&b tradition. Maybe some of her material was situated to tour with country artists, but all of it would pair pretty well with someone like Haley Reinhart.
…Now, if Mickey Guyton drops a pop album, you’ll have solid Exhibit B.
July 31, 2021 @ 1:28 pm
Yeah, I don’t want to be hard on Yola. I think she’s great, and have had her new album on repeat all weekend. It’s really good. Arguably better than her first, and Auerbach did a better job on production this time around. The sound palate has expanded and he’s gone beyond the usual cut n’ paste twinkly retro pastiche he slaps on all his artists’ albums.
July 31, 2021 @ 9:23 am
There is a much deeper discussion here, but generally speaking I concur, though I would say this dilemma goes well beyond ethnic minorities, though Yola and Mickey Guyton are good examples of artists who could help bring the gender and ethnic diversity some are clamoring country music must include, and yet their recent output is (mostly) outside of the country fold.
But you can also add Taylor Swift, Margo Price, and soon, Kacey Musgraves to the list of women who started in country and then jumped ship, and then all of a sudden it’s country that has to answer for its lack of female (or minority) representation. Over and over country music has invested tons of resources into certain women, only to have them leave the genre. It’s a problem.
July 31, 2021 @ 1:23 pm
Absolutely. You’ve discussed that issue before, so wasn’t gonna retrace the same territory, but it’s totally in the same ballpark of issues. I think there’s a lot of goodwill and untapped potential for female and minority artists who want to launch (or continue with) careers in country music.
It’s a tough game, but I feel like it’s not as tied to gender and ethnicity as the mainstream media would have us believe.
July 30, 2021 @ 2:27 pm
This one’s better than “Rollin’ On,” which was fantastic indeed, Trig, Jesse is the present; everything that’s right about country music.
And a truly wonderful human being.
July 31, 2021 @ 8:51 am
“I Think I’ll Stay” is proof that not every song of the year candidate needs to be depressing.
July 31, 2021 @ 10:27 am
Agreed with Wayne; Clayton As a Cowboy is the kind of Tom-T-Hall-esque story song Jesse excels in most, like Champion on the last album.
July 31, 2021 @ 3:16 pm
I am rooting for this guy. Loving the new album. Trig, keep up the solid work. Finding so many gems through your work and site. Jesse, get to the Midwest!
July 31, 2021 @ 5:36 pm
Good release overall. Though, I think he should have held it for another year to make sure he had a bulletproof 10. I’ve listened to this one twice, and both times came away feeling like it was very frontloaded.
Clayton was a Cowboy
Looking Back
Texas Summer Night
Think I’ll Stay
All great, well written songs. “Texas Summer Night” felt like a James Taylor song.
But, after “Think I’ll Stay”, song quality drops considerably in my eyes. “Drop a Line” and “Angel on the Ground” were kitschy to the point of being plastic, and “Great Divide” was what it was. I’m also not fluent in Spanish, but the instrumentation was cool.
Hope that doesn’t come off as too critical because I really enjoyed a handful of songs on it. Trig’s write up of his backstory was cool too.
August 1, 2021 @ 6:52 am
Agreed. I detected some John Denver in there too. I’m a native Spanish speaker and thought the vocals and lyrics were kinda cringe on the Spanish language songs.
The lyrics of “El Trabajador” (The Worker) simply go “I’m a worker, I get up, I drink coffee, I put on my boots, I take care of my family, I go to work. . etc.”. Common themes in country and Tejano but lyrically delivered in a very simple high-school Spanish class kind of way.
I’d expect the same sentiments could’ve been conveyed more creatively. Daniel’s otherwise good at doing specific kinds of “working class guy” character studies in song and I would’ve expected the same even for a Spanish-language song. I think a good idea on paper fell a little short in execution.
August 1, 2021 @ 9:12 am
This guy is the real deal!
August 1, 2021 @ 6:43 pm
I liked “Rollin’ On” enough to roll the dice on this one. He clearly likes to write.
How’s the live band? Some of the squeaky clean might have to do with how people may have been shifted to the grid. I can see a lot of Jesse’s songs doing great live once the band loosens up and locks in.
August 2, 2021 @ 7:50 am
I’m actually liking “Beyond the Walls” a ton. “Rollin’ On'” was just OK for me; it sounded like forced Bakersfield imitation … flat and dry. This one is more dynamic and Daniel sounds energized on it. There is nothing wrong with good production and a little variety. I just wonder which one is the true Jesse Daniel?
August 6, 2021 @ 3:11 pm
I finally had the chance to listen to this album today, having loved ‘Rollin’ On’ when it appeared last year.
The production is excellent – crystal clear!
Anybody else hear an echo of Bob Woodruff on a couple of the tracks?