Ukulele Jim's Authentic Down Home Marital Aid

Uke on!

     

I've been playing ukulele for about a year and a half now, and am always amazed by the versatility of this fun and addictive little instrument. I read about Ukulele Jim's newest single "Home" on the Ukulele Underground forum today and decided to check it out. When I saw that he had other releases on iTunes, I gave them a sampling, and realized that I had heard one song before ("Madeline"). That clinched it for me and I downloaded this CD.
As I was listening to samples of the songs, I realized that several of them had that goofy wistful feel that some Barenaked Ladies tunes have. This is a good thing, in my book, as I have always been a big BNL fan. "Something About You" and "The Town at the End of the World", and "The Cliche Song" in particular have that vibe. I like the way the happy sound of the ukulele contrasts with the melancholic lyrics. You don't usually associate ukulele with sad music, and you don't usually associate sad lyrics with light-hearted music, but I really like the juxtaposing of the two moods. Not all of the songs are melancholy, however! There are several very upbeat tunes as well.
The cover of John Lennon's "Imagine" is really nice, and the instrumentation throughout the songs is very well-played and arranged. I'm primarily a bassist, and I particularly enjoyed the bass tone on "Anniversary Song". I don't know if Ukulele Jim played all the instruments himself or not, but no matter who played them, they did a great job!