Jesse DeNatale: Shangri-La West : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Nighttime isn't just the right time for San Francisco troubadour Jesse DeNatale; it's the only time. The characters that populate his lyrically dense songs walk out of streetlight shadows just long enough to introduce themselves before taking their seats in some dark, romantic corner of the bar. And DeNatale delivers their tales with a voice part raconteur, part old-time bluesman, but equally wise. Whether it's the nightclub jazz of the album's opener, "Twilight King," or the simple Van Morrison-like declaration to love, "All in the Name," DeNatale doesn't try anything too fancy. He prefers the anonymous drift of a few standard chords on acoustic guitar with a burst of organ for seasoning and a sturdy drum for punch. Turning every-night situations into lasting myth has its difficulties -- "Bohemian Ghosts" is, perhaps, too obvious -- but when the self-consciousness fades, he proves he's got what it takes to make it 'til morning.

ROB O'CONNOR
(March 11, 2003)