New York, NY (Top40 Charts) JEFF LARSON will release his first solo full-length album in a decade, the tentatively titled ADOBE HOME, this fall (2023) via Nashville-based label
Melody Place on the heels of IT'LL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN, his acclaimed six-song tribute EP to the late iconic singer and songwriter Tim Hardin. Read the pull quotes below about the EP, produced by Gerry Beckley of America, from a variety of media outlets including
Music Connection ("…does an exceptional job shedding new light on classic material from legendary troubadour Tim Hardin), Americana Highways ("…interprets with class"), and Rock and Roll
Globe ("…give his stunning take on a Tim Hardin standard ['If I Were A Carpenter'] a listen").
LARSON is a veteran singer-songwriter from the San Francisco Bay area now living in Southern California. For the melodically sparkling and CA-themed ADOBE HOME, LARSON recorded 12 new songs that he produced with Gerry Beckley. LARSON wrote seven of the tunes; two with legendary songwriter Jack Tempchin (the Eagles' "Peaceful Easy Feeling"); and one with Beckley, who contributes one original. It's an album with subject matter that touches on people, places, and things with styles ranging from Americana, folk-rock, power pop, and some jazz elements. The exact release date is TBA.
"This project started in 2020 when I just moved to the San
Diego area," says LARSON. "Exploring and learning about my new surroundings influenced several songs, starting with 'Adobe Home,' 'This Summer,' and 'Better Part of the Morning.' I've continued my ongoing collaboration with co-producer and friend, Gerry Beckley," he adds. "We help each other as sounding boards on the production side, we co-wrote one song, and he plays bass and keyboards throughout the album. I also became friends with Jack Tempchin, who is a neighbor. Along with producing a record for Jack, we co-wrote a couple of songs for this album. I think it captures the time it was written and the emotions I went through."
On IT'LL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN, LARSON's are warm, distinctive, and beautifully evocative, as especially underlined by his performance on "Reason To Believe."
IT'LL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN was produced, arranged and mixed by Beckley and features "Reason to Believe," It'll Never Happen Again," "If I Were A Carpenter," Don't Make Promises," "Misty Roses," and "How Can We Hang On To A Dream." LARSON (on lead vocals and acoustic guitar) is musically joined by Beckley (piano, acoustic and electric guitars, organ, accordion, strings bass, drums) and an array of fine musicians including Joachim Cooder (electric mbira, drums, percussion) and Matt Combs (mandola, fiddle). The EP was recorded at studios in Sydney, Australia and Southern California. LARSON has also shared below a song-by-song comments about each track on the EP.
JEFF LARSON 'IT'LL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN' CRITICS QUOTE SHEET:
"…striking new EP…stellar selections…Larson does an admirable job of carrying…[Hardin's] credentials forward." - Lee Zimmerman, AMERICAN SONGWRITER, May/June 2023
"Singer-songwriter Jeff Larson does an exceptional job shedding new light on classic material from legendary troubadour Tim Hardin. Everyone from
Rod Stewart and
Bob Seger to
Johnny Cash have covered Hardin's catalog. And Larson is right up there with the best of them. He stridently captures the honest and conflicting sentiment of 'Don't Make Promises You Can't Keep,' and his take on 'Misty Roses' is dreamy and wistful. 'How Can We Hang On To a Dream' has an engaging baroque feel." - Eric Harabadian, MUSIC CONNECTION, 2/28/23
"Singer-songwriter Jeff Larson has teamed with producer Gerry Beckley of
America for this exquisite tribute to the late Tim Hardin. Its six songs encompass such Hardin classics as "Reason to Believe," 'If I Were a Carpenter,' 'Misty Roses,' and the title track. Larson handles lead vocals and acoustic guitar while Beckley, Joachim Cooder, and Matt Combs have joined him to provide the wide-ranging instrumentation. It'll Never Happen Again reinterprets Hardin's timeless and personal songs with grace and elegance, with one veteran singer-songwriter paying subtle and deeply-felt tribute to another." -THE SECOND DISC, 2/23/23
"It [the EP] provides some revitalized versions of covers of some of the late Tim Hardin's best songs…Jeff Larson is a capable artist who interprets with class…Jeff has provided a fascinating document & judging from a few ('Don't Make Promises') he really excels with these songs." - John Apice, AMERICANA HIGHWAYS, 4/4/23
"…give his stunning take on a Tim Hardin standard ['If I Were A Carpenter'] a listen." - Ron Hart, ROCK AND ROLL GLOBE, 3/8/23
"..It'll Never Happen Again, subtitled A Tim Hardin Tribute, is a stellar example of the power that Hardin's music still has on today's music scene…Jeff's vocals and acoustic guitars are in fine form throughout. With multiple albums to his credit, Jeff Larson adds to his notable legacy with this short, but sweet tribute to the late, great Tim Hardin." - Robert Silverstein, ROOTS MUSIC REPORT, 3/21/23.
JEFF LARSON is a veteran singer-songwriter from the San Francisco Bay area. Musically, Jeff got his start under the wing of producer Elliot Mazer (Neil Young, The Band) playing in clubs and venues throughout the Bay area. As a native Californian, the influences are obviously present and reach from the golden era of L.A.'s Laurel Canyon singer-songwriter scene to the Bay area's musical heritage and the tension between the two. While remaining a solo artist, he's collaborated with Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell of America, Chicago's Robert Lamm, John Blakeley of The Sandals, and
Eagles songwriter Jack Tempchin, among others. His prolific body of work created over the years has been released by various means and labels with licensing opportunities with JVC Victor Japan, Universal / Rhino, BMG and others from The Netherlands to Japan. "Larson's earnest vocals and unwaveringly engaging folk-rock-country songs have an alluring feel," wrote the San Jose Mercury News in 2011 about his album The World Over. "Larson's warm, wonderful songs will grab you immediately and just get better with each subsequent listening. Every one of the 10 numbers here proves to be an individual gem."
