When Jim Beloff contacted me late last year and asked if I’d like to preview his new album, I jumped at the chance.
As soon as the rough mixes hit my ears, it was obvious it was some of Jim’s finest work to date. In fact, mid-century modern may well be his best record yet.
Never wandering from the central themes of love, hope and faith, the music itself stays firmly rooted in the 1950s/60s style evoked by the album’s title.
“The north star of this collection of mostly recent songs was the sound of records from my youth,” Jim explains.
The track order is perfect, beautifully bookended by Sing Love and A Ukulele and You, which was inspired by an interview Jim did with Bette Midler after giving her uke lessons! In their chat, Bette fantasised about a future time when she might tour with just a ukulele rather than the huge productions that usually accompany her.
From a player’s perspective, 50s Modern really stands out, not least because of its fascinating connection with late jazz great Lyle Ritz:
The uke I’m playing is Lyle’s cutaway Gibson tenor that he played on his groundbreaking late ’50s Verve album, How About Uke.
Not only does the vintage uke sound fantastic, it sounds like Lyle’s playing it! He would be proud.
And the interesting instrumentation doesn’t end there. Both La, La, La (I Can’t Hear You) and Have a Little Faith were written on a hybrid called a ‘manulenjo’.
Conceived by Noel Paul Stookey (Paul of famed folk group Peter, Paul and Mary), it has a banjo head and eight steel strings in four courses tuned GCEA.
Maybe it’s just because I’m a big Brian Wilson fan, but I could hear some early Beach Boys influences on several tracks, perhaps most notably in the harmonies on La La La (I Can’t Hear You). And I really enjoyed the picking on Have a Little Faith, as well as its positive message of believing in yourself.
mid-century modern is further proof that the ukulele can seamlessly blend into any soundscape or musical era. And, more importantly, it’s just a lot of fun!
You’ve read the article, now listen to my podcast chat with Jim… ⬇️
