Album Notes

Melting reflects the jazz influences that crept into Jessica Stone’s songwriting after attending the LA Music Academy. Those influences are combined with the country, pop, and blues themes she explored on her first record, Seven Letters. Her jazzy tunes ‘Need You’ and ‘The First Dance’ could be mistaken as coming straight out of the Great American Songbook, while ‘Forget Me Not,’ ‘Melting,’ ‘Fading,’ and ‘In That Moment’ might be played on pop radio today. ‘Sort Of’ stands out as the only rocker on the album, with a Rolling Stones-influenced arrangement complete with horns and a gospel chorus. Her covers of Willie Nelson’s lesser-known but brilliant songs, ‘Wake Me When It’s Over,’ ‘Summer of Roses,’ and ‘December Day’ are sparse, jazzy arrangements that trace only the thinnest of threads back to their country origin. ‘Flowers In Her Hair’ and the final track, ‘Lullaby,’ are sweet, folksy ballads with infectious simplicity. Overall, Melting is a satisfying collection of songs with great arrangement and production value.