Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
When a poet speaks the whole world should tremble, people should listen with full attention and be silent, for a poet, unlike a politician of any persuasion or coloured rosette, has nothing to lose by using their voice to speak out or up for that which vexes society, there is no promise or delusion, only frank words designed to highlight and comfort, to place anger or shoulder the lie, and the spoken word of the poet should offer nothing but a truth.
It is to the genuine sincerity of faith in human feelings that H. Jack Williams unveils his superb new album Something About Hope with the flourish of Time and the beacon of anticipation completely unfurled and flying majestically in the spoken word musically courageous release.
Written by H. Jack Williams, Jennifer Klein, Don Poythress, Tony Wood, and Mark Marchetti, the tracks on board are of the purist quality, delivered with true depth by an array of guests, including the actor Kevin Costner, W. Earl Brown, Ward Davis, and Duane Allen, what transpires is commentary and absolution in one seismic sweeping gesture of humanity and perspective.
Mixed, mastered and produced by John Willis and H. Jack Williams, Something About Hope displays immense wealth of writing and imagination, and as tracks such as Broken For Life, with a superb fiddle arrangement by Katie Jakoby acting as a musical tether of renown, the excellent Bridges, Fallin In Love, Jesus And Me, and the sublime Dancing In The Sun combine, so to does the sense, the overwhelming truth, of the album in hand.
When a poet speaks, no matter the form it takes, no matter the observation, they deserve to be shown the same care as any other artist; and as the outstanding meld of spoken word, use of programming, and aural instruments dig deep into the psyche of the listener, so the sheer elegance of the piece makes its self-known, not just as an introduction, but as a force of nature, perfect, obtainable, beautiful.
There is always something about hope that brings out the best in us, a lesson always worth repeating no matter what.
Ian D. Hall