Articles → All You Gotta Do Is Touch Me.

Jonatha Brooke is one of my favorite artists of all time. Despite not being very well known, she has a very loyal fan base, especially here in the US and in parts of Europe (read: Denmark!) So I wanted to give you a little insight into this amazingly talented artist who needs our support (read: buy her albums!) She's got a new record coming out on August 26, with lyrics borrowed from the library of Woody Guthrie. Yes, THAT Woody Guthrie, the folk legend. Now, she's not the first artist to re-interpret Guthrie's lyrics. Billy Bragg & Wilco put out an album in '98 called Mermaid Avenue, the lyrics of which were also taken from the Guthrie archives. Jonatha has made these lyrics her own, thus making Guthrie accessible to folk traditionalists and modern music lovers alike.
Some of Jonatha Brooke's Similar Artists from last.fm:
Shawn Colvin, Dar Williams, Patty Griffin, Patty Larkin, Natalie Merchant, Erin McKeown, Lisa Loeb, Paula Cole, Brandi Carlile, Bonnie Raitt, Joan Osborne, Heather NovaI fell in love with Jonatha in 1995 when a friend introduced me to Plumb, her first solo record. The first track on the album, Nothing Sacred, is a blistering look at the end of a relationship:
To be true, to be kind, to never walk away
And it's true you were blind no matter what I would say to you
Is there nothing sacred, to you? The heartache on the album is palpable. Now that I think about it, a lot of the songs on Plumb are about break-ups. And who hasn't gone through one of those? It's feminism, but only in the sense that she is a strong woman who won't take anything lying down. It's empowering music, but more than that, it's beautiful. (Check out the track Inconsolable if you want a good cry). Jonatha's mastery of the guitar does not go unnoticed; her harmonies are unique to her sound and again show a technical skill that any folk-rock artist would find hard to match.

My Top 10 Fave JBro tracks to check out:
Made Of Gold (Plumb)
West Point (Plumb)
Because I Told You So (10 Cent Wings)
Landmine (10 Cent Wings, and the version from Live in New York is amazing)
Annie (Live)
Linger (Steady Pull)
Eye In The Sky (Back in the Circus, Alan Parsons Project cover)
It Matters Now (Back in the Circus)
Hearsay (Careful What You Wish For)
After The Tears (Careful What You Wish For) Her subsequent studio albums, 10 Cent Wings (1997), Steady Pull (1999), Back in the Circus (2004), and Careful What You Wish For (2007), show a progression from a folk siren to a rock goddess -- with occasional glances back at the spare, soulful harmonies at which she excels. For those of us who love Jonatha's sound, her new album (which I've attached the video promo for below) sounds like it's gonna be pure Jonatha. She's collaborated with some awesome artists like Keb' Mo', Joe Sample and Glen Phillips, lead singer of Toad The Wet Sprocket. What I've heard so far sounds awesome (the first track, called All You Gotta Do Is Touch Me, is available streaming on JBro's MySpace (link below).


Me and Jonatha last year in Chicago.

I got to see Jonatha three times last year, in Chicago, Ann Arbor, and right here in Portland. She is incredible live, whether she plays solo or with her kick-ass band. (Hello, Goffrey Moore on guitar? ROCKS.) Jonatha always makes herself available after shows to chit-chat with fans and autograph CDs, and for ubergeeks like me, be photographed with rabid fans. And she is embarking on a cross-country tour in the fall, so the likelihood is if you are in the US, she's coming close to you. (She's also got a couple of dates in the UK in October, and doubtless she'll have some sort of 8-week tour of every single town in Denmark. Those Danes are CRAZY about Jonatha.) I strongly encourage you to check out all of her albums, but especially The Works when it comes out on August 26. I hope you will fall in love with her the way that I have, and that you will count yourself among her fans.

Promotional video for "The Works":


Additional Information
Jonatha Brooke's MySpace
Jonatha Brooke's Official Website