Jack Logan: Buzz Me In

Jack Logan, a middle-aged handyman and mechanic living in Athens, Georgia, amassed hundreds of home-recorded songs before his tapes got into the hands of TwinTone records. Making his debut, as it were, with the 1994 double-disc set Bulk, Logan proved a remarkable songwriter, drawing comparisons to The Replacements and R.E.M. But it's clear from his third solo album, Buzz Me In, that Logan has been sharpening his skills ever since, developing a songwriting personality on par with those of his newfound peers. A wonderful record that runs the gamut from orchestral pop to doleful country-rock, Buzz Me In finds Logan polishing some of the rough edges that marked his low-fidelity days, and the result is one of the most heartfelt albums in some time. It's hard to believe this is the same record Restless Records refused to release two years ago. Recording with producer Kosmo Vinyl—a former Clash associate—Logan for the first time sounds as good as he can, his voice weary but focused and his eclectic music clear-eyed and powerful no matter the genre. Logan opens with "I Brake For God," a Tom Petty-worthy ballad, and immediately follows it with the cowbell-driven rave-up "All Grown Up." Given such a strange initial juxtaposition of style, it should come as no surprise that the next track, "Hit Or Miss," is decorated with mournful strings and piano. What is a surprise is how easily Logan shifts gears, sounding as comfortable with the orchestration as he does with acoustic country of "Anytime." Those who used up all their hyperbole when Bulk came out may regret the lack of reservation, as Buzz Me In is even more worthy of superlatives. Like Bruce Springsteen and the like-minded Alejandro Escovedo, Logan will not be rooted to any one music, yet against the odds, his restlessness continues to result in beauty and passion, two qualities missing from too much music nowadays.