J.S. - Justin Stockton

This review as to go up on the 2nd of this month but things happen and I wanted to let this linger a little longer before I do any review. So this is the first Ep by my friend Justin Stockton, and was released independently on my label. Now usually I don't like reviewing anything I've touched, but I can give this a go. This is the first release that he's done with acoustic guitar. I want to say this was recorded and released on February 17th, 2014 and the only thing I did was fix digital distortion, and also resize the artwork and convert the mono to stereo. So I didn't contribute in anyway to the material so I can review this. Oh yeah, he also reviewed my album I did. Which by that way, was his best to date. And the first review of anything I've ever done so, yeah life's good.

1. Mary Ann: This opens the EP with a country feeling. It actually sounds like a song that I could imagine being something in the vein of Robert Johnson. Now it's not one of his songs, but very influenced and inspired by. I like that it's only about 1.5 minutes, because the thing about blues is lots of time it can drag on and on and on and on and... you get the point. This song is straight forward and doesn't stay past its welcome. It's also a great way to open this new flavor to incorporate in his material. Also he sings within his range. My only complaint is the vox be clearer, but I can't complain to much because I run into that problem sometimes too.
2. Good Night: Now I talked to him about this song and he told me its dear to his heart. There is a religious aspect in there and this is the deepest he's gotten ever. Thought that chords aren't that drastically different from the prior track, this is the style and I enjoy it. Oh, question Justin is the progression Am-F#m-DMaj. Just wondering if I can hear correctly.
3. Jack: This sounds very similar to Mary Ann, but I think it's a solid track. There is a type of just tongue-n-cheek aspect that I think he did a good job at, but there were certain slips. This reminds me of possibly a cover of a song off Folsom Prison.
4. Gettin' The Blues: This is a good song, just needs to be a little more fleshed out. I think that if he added a guitar solo in there it may have been better, but it's a good track.

Overall I have to give this a 6/10. Now this is by far the best thing he's done yet, it's showed maturation, and is showing artistic growth, which is necessary as a musician. I can't damn him because some of the ideas could have been furthered, this is only his third release. I still make mistakes and fuck up, but he is definatly growing and glad I know him. He's on the right path, also look forward to that album I'm producing for him. PS, click _here_ to go and get a copy yourself.