Issue #73: The Venn Diagram of JD McPherson and Jessica Simpson
File Under "Things I am currently obsessed with"
By Marissa
In one of the most how-did-I-get-here (in the joyful sort of way) moments of my career, I once found myself in a room with Robert Plant. It was for an interview for the Guardian with another holy-shit legend, Alison Krauss, about their second album together, and Plant was one of those interviews that truly met the moment, perhaps more than any other interview I’ve ever done, probably because at the end he left me with a wag of his finger and this sendoff: “If I come from the land of the ice and snow, I’ll be OK.” I am pretty good at keeping my cool – I didn’t even lose my shit the time Noel Gallagher asked me if I wanted to touch his hair (I accepted) – but it took everything I had to not explode into a little pile of rock god glee on the floor of the Sound Emporium studio.
Anyway, I am recounting this story because, a, it’s fun and b, it’s relevant because I have been thinking – and listening – to a lot of JD McPherson lately. And I have virtually nothing in common with Robert Plant, except for the fact that we both like country music and we both think that JD McPherson is really, really great. Plant was headed to a session with McPherson right after our interview, in fact, and recruited him to tour with Plant & Krauss as both part of their band and occasional opening act.
McPherson’s new album, Night Owls, is a very good, extremely rock and roll record, so I don’t exactly want to stretch to say that I can write about it here because it’s “Americana” (though I suppose anything with a guitar can exist in that category, no?). Night Owls is very rock and roll in the way that we are supposed to pretend no longer exists so old men can feel sad about stuff, an approach that has always been a part of his records even on the slightly more rootsy debut Signs & Signifiers. But I think you will like it if you like country music because the writing and playing is so strong, and a little hilarious at times. It’s the sleeper hit of the fall.
As much as I am interested in his music, I am also very interested right now in what McPherson is doing in his creative universe, that seems to be expanding rapidly. His banger (dare I say classic, as a Jew? I think I am allowed) of a Christmas album, Socks, just got the children’s book treatment. He produced the new album from beloved Nashville artist JP Harris, called JP Harris is a Trash Fire, that is decidedly not a trash fire and takes Harris’ traditional sound and tunes it up in a way that only a McPherson collab can, with a bit of a sharper boogie even right out of the gate:
And while I have no info other than what everyone else can see on Instagram, he seems to be deep into another producing project: working with Jessica Simpson. I have been longing for a return to music from Simpson for a while – she was dipping her toe in Nashville long before it was what every white dude with a face tattoo was into, and her love for a huge ballad happens to hit me in a sweet spot (I also listened to her memoir in the car on book tour and can confirm she really is a hell of a storyteller). She’s creatively underestimated, as powerful women are, and I am extremely invested now in the mystery of an Instagram post where she referred to McPherson as her “producer,” and another one where she tagged him along with a score of other favorites like Fancy Hagood and Sista Strings from what looks like a studio. What is she working on?? What does a partnership between her and McPherson sound like? I need to know these things immediately. The post in question:
Simpson has an eye for talent. She was working with Luke Laird and Hillary Lindsay back in 2008, and she also has very good taste: she covered Patty Griffin’s “Let Him Fly” on her album Public Affair. A collaboration with McPherson is actually pretty genius, and I am waiting (not so?) patiently for more information, let alone a taste of the music. No idea if it’s country, but with collaborators like Sista Strings and Hagood, it’s gotta have some sort of Americana affinity. If this all happens like its playing out in my head, this will also catapult McPherson to a different stratosphere when it comes to production, which is an exciting thing for anyone who is a fan of his approach - based on my limited evidence, he seems very good at honing in on what makes someone special and doubling down on that, other than trying to confirm anything to his specific favorite genre, or worrying about genre at all. Let the good times roll.
"Nite Owls" is a really fun listen. Does anyone else hear a bit of Ramones influence in JD's music? I feel like I could hear Joey singing "Baby Blues," especially all the "oh yeahs."