The record starts off with “Small Town Rain,” a song written with Keith Ridenour and Bud Tower. The song runs through the usual stories of small town life but rather than romanticize it as something that is long gone but instead the song is about change and accepting the way life has a way of changing the best of laid plans. Melodically the song is progressive and if there is a complaint with production it would be that it’s slightly bombastic but not any more so than other songs currently out there on the radio. “Complicated Hearts” is a beautifully organic piano-driven ballad that finds Nathan Lee Jackson singing about people who are trying to be something more than they need to be. The steel guitar and violin fills help to give the melody a gorgeous backdrop for Nathan Lee’s strong vocal. This is the kind of song that used to be all over country radio and, given the right chance, “Complicated Hearts” could find itself there.
The first single from Complicated Hearts is “Desperate Man.” With an interesting lyrics about a guy getting held-up by gunpoint by a ‘desperate man,’ Nathan Lee sings the song in a style similar to Jimmy Wayne and the lyrics take an interesting turn and the song ends up being about love and forgiveness for and from God. While not really country music sounding when the song starts out by the time Nathan Lee gets to the chorus of “Inside” it’s clear that this song makes for a fantastic album cut that shows off a little bit of diversity to the artist.
I’ve always been a sucker for a great tear-jerking ballad and “I Could Try” is very much a song in this vein. Written with Karin Paparelli and Jill Gorin, the song is about a man who really has nothing going for him, particularly after the loss of his loved one. This is a song about a guy who is trying to terrible hurt and grief into something positive so he will ‘try’ to move on. While the song was written before his mother got sick and ultimately passed away, it has surely taken on a new meaning for the artist. “Sittin’ By The River” feels like a song ripe for Will Ferrell’s “Cowbell” and I’ll be damned if Nathan Lee Jackson didn’t try to get one in on the production of the song (his label thought it’d be cheesy otherwise). The lyrics are about a guy who wants nothing more than to “sit by a river with an old cane pole…just wastin’ time ‘til the sun goes down.” While the melody of the song is purely out of the pop-rock world, there are some violin fills courtesy of Kansas’ David Ragsdale.
“The Other Side of The County” is a cute tale of young country love (complete with banjos, mandolins from Larry Beaird, Ragsdale’s violins and Dan Dugmore’s stellar steel guitar). It is firmly a country song and nobody who hears it could say otherwise. Fans of old-school big band ballads will enjoy “Kentucky Breeze,” a song that could also find its way to Michael Buble and not be out of place. Featuring a large orchestra from the Philadelphia Symphony, the song is another instance on the record (like “Inside” and “River” where Nathan Lee Chapman shows off his versatility).
“Powerful” is another well-written and tastefully produced piano-based ballad that shows off Nathan Lee Jackson’s talent as an artist. Inspired by his wife, the song not only got him the girl but it also got him his record deal as the song was what lead producer and Star City label owner Jeff Glixman (with Jim Gentile of Kansas) to give Nathan Lee Jackson his record deal. It’s a romantic love song that obviously comes from the heart, even if the production does get to be a little much towards the end of the song. As an artist not afraid to showcase his faith Nathan Lee has a couple of faith-based songs (aside from “Desperate Man”) that recalls the wonderful singer/songwriter Regie Hamm. “Human Touch” and “Store Up Your Treasures” are both songs that could their place inside a church on a Sunday morning, particularly the a capella latter song that really shows off Nathan Lee’s strong tenor vocal. I actually can see a bluegrass band like Daily Vincent or The Lonesome River Band covering it for one of their albums.
While Complicated Hearts may not be a record for everyone, it does have its charms and will impact those who listen to it with an open heart and mind, which is all any artist can ask for.
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