(Text from from Lucidforge review, 3 out of 5 stars)
There’s a lot to enjoy on Seventeen Oh-Two Oh-Six. Each track is very different from the last, and in some places motifs are used to establish a different mood for each song; for example, “Crazy French Girl” has a distinctly Western-style theme. I was pretty impressed with what Rivest was able to do with only the help of his guitar; which is good, because there aren’t any other instruments in the mix, besides a tambourine on one track. It also appears that a lot of the songs were recorded in the same take, which isn’t surprising given the bold confidence Rivest displays with this recording.
(Text from 2006 bio)
If you converse with Jesse Rivest over a beer, he'll inadvertently lead you to believe that he's just a man with a flair for natural living - yet he won't call himself a hippie. You'd part with Jesse unaware of his talent as a singer, songwriter, and a fingerstyle/slide/groove guitarist. He's either modest or he does not yet realize that when he performs, people turn their heads and stop what they're doing to listen.
In fact, Jesse has been slowly realizing his potential over many years. Raised in Stony Plain, Alberta, and Kelowna, British Columbia, he first picked up the guitar in 1991. Between then and 2004 he learned to rock, performing in cover bands and jamming along to recordings from artists such as Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Black Crowes, The Tragically Hip, and Tom Petty. In Calgary, Alberta, Jesse gained confidence after several lessons with jazz/roots guitarist Aaron Young (of Barrage fame), while he found inspiration in recordings from slide guitarists and songwriters Lester Quitzau and Xavier Rudd. It was in 2005 that Jesse materialized as a singer/songwriter, gaining popularity at open-mic sessions and being accepted as a performing finalist in the Calgary Folk Music Festival’s prestigious songwriting contest.
His first solo tour happened unexpectedly in Australia, resulting in over 20 shows. After settling in Rockhampton, Queensland, and performing live on ABC’s regionally broadcasted radio, Jesse returned to Canada to record with Josh Rob Gwilliam (engineer/producer for Juno award winning The Road Hammers). In early 2006 he released Seventeen Oh-Two Oh-Six, a warm and intimate album that boasts his smooth, natural voice and his refreshing guitar style. Jesse's debut release promotes 11 unique, personal songs that a growing audience is humming, foot-tapping, and relating to.
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