Vintage Review: Jason Ringenberg’s A Pocketful of Soul (2001)

Soul is an intangible concept – some folks has got it, some ain’t – but anybody who thinks that an old country boy can’t have soul is just plain mistaken. Take Jason Ringenberg, for instance. Grew up on a hog farm in Illinois, been plying his trade these past twenty years or so as frontman/songwriter/bottlewasher for the finest posse of rockin’ cowpunks that this humble critic has been proud to make acquaintance with. Not for nothing did Jason & the Scorchers name their first basement-brewed recording Reckless Country Soul and now Jason steps out on his own in the year “Y2J” with a fine solo effort called A Pocketful of Soul.

To resubmit my original theory, if you think that a country boy can’t have soul then you’ve never heard Mr. Ringenberg’s delightful twang wrap around a set of lyrics. Technical singers are a dime a dozen down on “Music Row,” and I’m looking for the guy supplying the dimes. Jason, on the other hand, is a soulful singer – technically proficient, but with too much honky-tonk in him to mimic the bland pop styling demanded by Nashville’s major label establishment. As raw as an icy wind blowing across a barren wheat field, Jason imparts every song on A Pocketful of Soul with a delightful country soul that is as authentic as it is unique. To hear Ringenberg sing “For Addie Rose,” for instance, written for his young daughter, is to stare into the heart of the artist. Any damn singer can entertain your ears, but it takes soul to hit you in the gut.

There are no pretensions to be found on A Pocketful of Soul, no delusions of grandeur or multi-platinum fantasies. This is a homegrown musical project, a wonderful aside from Jason’s work with the Scorchers. This is country music as it used to be, created by the artist instead of committee, committed to excellence rather than demographics. Jason’s critically acclaimed songwriting skills have never been questioned, tho’ he’s reserved some of his most personal observations for A Pocketful of Soul. The aforementioned “For Addie Rose” is for every father who has ever watched his daughter grow up. The chilling “The Price of Progress” is certainly influenced by one of the greatest tragedies of the modern age, the loss of the family farm. “The Last of the Neon Cowboys” is a thinly-veiled tale of too many nights on the stage while Jason’s cover of the long-lost Guadacanal Diary gem “Trail of Tears” is afforded a, well, soulful reading.

Although there are some electric instruments hereabouts, A Pocketful of Soul is an acoustic-oriented collection of songs, performances captured by an analog 16 track recorder and sent out into the world with no heavy production, bells or whistles. Ringenberg rounded up talented former Webb Wilder sideman George Bradfute and multi-instrumentalist Fats Kaplin to help him pick on an assortment of guitars, mandolin, dobro, steel guitar, accordion and violin. The focus here is on Jason’s vocals, however, and the damn fine songs that this talented wordsmith still manages to crank out after two decades of writing.

A Pocketful of Soul is a rarity – a strong solo effort from an artist known primarily for his work with a band. It is also an anomaly, a country record that is true to the spirit of the ghosts of Hank, Ernest and Lefty, living proof that Jason R. still has a few tricks up his sleeve. (Courageous Chicken Music, released 2001)

Find the CD on Discogs: Jason Ringenberg’s A Pocketful of Soul