The Red and Black

Issue date: 7/3/08 Section: Variety

Media Credit: HOLLY JOHNSON Local singer/songwriter Jason Beckham will release his first full-length album, "Union Park and Magnolia Street" on Tuesday, July 8. [Click to enlarge]

It is hard to believe "Union Park and Magnolia Street" is Jason Beckham's first full-length album - his experience as a musician and songwriter shows.

Beckham moved to Athens three years ago, he said in a telephone interview. Before then, Beckham moved at age 21 from Atlanta to Nashville, where he played venues for seven years.

"I decided to drive up there with my guitar, and see what (would) happen," Beckham said. "They call it guts or ignorance and being na've, (but) it could go either way."

But after awhile, Beckham came to a standstill.

"There were a lot of dead-end roads in Nashville, and I felt it wasn't anything I wanted to be a part of," he said of his move to Athens. "When I got here, everything kind of fell into place, everyone I met associated with music was nice."

"Union Park and Magnolia Street" is pleasantly varied and competent, strung together with Beckham's distinct vocals and storytelling.

It is easy to compare his voice to vocalists such as John Mayer or Jack Johnson, but it is set against so many different kinds of sound that those examples lose relevance as the album plays on.

The album is steady and heavy one moment, then somber and reflective the next.

"Open Your Eyes," the opening track, is bold and pumped with hard guitar riffs. Set against Beckham's soulful voice, it evokes heavy southern rock and blues.

This continues later in the album with "On the Surface of the Sun," a powerful track that, like most of the album, uses strong backing from drummer Patrick Ferguson (Five-Eight, Music Hates You) and bassist Nathan Rudolf to underline Beckam's lyrical narratives and sketches of painful hope.

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