Whether an artist is conservative, centrist, liberal or downright radical, there is nothing wrong with getting on a political soapbox as long as you're musically sound.
Merle Haggard's right-wing diatribes and
Public Enemy's angry black nationalist propaganda are equally inspired, and both artists are exciting musically regardless of whether you agree or disagree with their political views. The same can be said about activist/folk-pop singer
Fred Small, who addresses his share of political and social topics on
Jaguar. The subjects that the Bostonian tackles on this CD range from endangered species ("Jaguar") to sexual abuse of children ("Light in the Hall") to wars that are fought over oil ("Warlords"). It's safe to assume that when
Small wrote "Warlords," the Persian Gulf War was very much on his mind. But not everything on
Jaguar has a socio-political bent, and
Small is equally appealing when he sings and writes about romantic relationships. When you're listening to
Jaguar, you are sometimes reminded of American folk's European roots. There are slight hints of Celtic folk traditions on some of the songs, which makes perfect sense because the music that Irish and Scottish immigrants brought with them to U.S. helped pave the way for American storytellers like
Woody Guthrie,
Pete Seeger,
Joan Baez and
Bob Dylan. Whatever your politics,
Jaguar is a compelling folk-pop effort. ~ Alex Henderson