Jakob Dylan's Seeing Things is the Real Deal.

A few years back I was lucky enough to catch Jakob Dylan and the Wallflowers at the Recher Theatre in Towson. It was an early show and not too crowded either. I got to stand close to the stage and get a good view of the son of Bob Dylan belting out some very tight pop tunes. Even seeing the band live, I was still doubtful as to whether Jacob Dylan's vocal ability could allow him stand alone as a successful artist. With Jakob Dylan's release of his solo effort, Seeing Things, I doubt no more. Jakob Dylan is the real deal even without the tight pop band and slick studio production.

A good portion of Seeing Things (produced by Rick Rubin) is Jakob Dylan nakedly exposed with just his vocals and acoustic guitar. With exception of the toe tapping single, "Something Good this Way Comes," the majority of the CD is very meloncoly and a tad on the dark side. This CD is best enjoyed in the dark, preferably after a few drinks. Each song is carefully lyrically crafted and has something to say, which, I'm sure is a mandatory family prerequisite when your name is Dylan.

Some of the more bluesy tracks on Seeing Things were probably more enjoyable for Dylan to play than for us to listen to, but they may grow on you after a few listens. Why he chose "Evil is Alive and Well" as the first track is puzzling in that it is by far the CD's weakest track. A few tracks, such as "On up the Mountain," could easily be stripped-down Wallfowers' tunes due to their catchy lyrically rythym and pronounced hooks, but Dylan is able to successfully deliver them on his own. "Valley of the Low Sun" and "War is Kind" are two notable tracks where Dylan presents a barebones acoustic sincerity which proves that Jakob Dylan can definitely stand alone as a solo artist and song writer.

While some may claim that having a name like Dylan gives an artist an unfair advantage towards music stardom, with such a name also comes a pretty big pair of rock legend shoes to fill. Seeing Things proves that Jakob Dylan is a solid singer-songwriter no matter who his daddy is.