Jackopierce
Feel This Good
Bands like Jackopierce are something of a rarity in today’s music industry.
Singer-songwriters Jack O’Neill and Cary Pierce hit the big time 25 years ago as a college / acoustic-rock duo with songs like “Vineyard” and “Three of Us In a Boat”. After a long hiatus they reunited and found a niche playing high-end destination shows in resorts in places like Mexico and California to a fan base with a disposable income they didn’t have when they first watched them.
So far so standard, but unlike a lot of other reunion acts, the difference with Jackopierce is they place huge importance on recording and releasing new songs. They’re not content to just ‘play the hits’.
And with material as good as the songs showcased on Feel This Good that’s something their fans will be very glad about. The title track is a hook-laden, top-down, shades on ear worm that shows their songwriting skills have only got better with age, while O’Neill takes over vocal duties for the upbeat “So Good”.
“Speed” is a reworking of an older song Cary Pierce performed as a solo artist, while “Long Road Home” is another song that should by rights be a radio hit and shows Jackopierce’s collaboration with uber producer John Fields was a very fruitful one.
“Still House Hollow” slows the tempo down satisfactorily, while “Best Days” and “Got to Believe in Love” are perfect slices of pop-rock, and “Summer Feels Like Forever” closes the album in fine style.
Feel This Good proves that bizarrely in an age when the album is seemingly on life support, there’s nothing more invigorating for a band than returning to their roots and writing, releasing and promoting new music.
