For me this was a highly anticipated album – after listening to 4 of Stephen Jay’s CDs many times I was wanting more – when I heard of this album, and it’s intriguing title, I knew I’d enjoy it.  Each of his CDs are unique – their own world – but all use various threads from Stephen Jay’s musical universe. ‘Physical Answer’ has a more contemplative feel overall than his other albums yet still keeps the music and lyrics on edge – there’s always experimentation – and indulgence in notes and words.  

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 Along with new tracks several songs from past albums are rerecorded. They aren’t remakes, rather they are revisited – like the songs begged to be reinterpreted in a new way. Lyrics from past songs are revisited as well such as “wild and scenic.”  You get the feeling that the songs and poetry are close ups of a much larger tapestry – it’s familiar, but you’ve never seen it before.

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It's not easy to describe the music on Physical Answer - words like "danceable," "sensual," "complex," "inquisitive" and "playful” come to mind. “Pendulum Swing” is a thoroughly enjoyable with Miles Jay’s excellent bass playing. "Broken String" is like savoring chocolate at 2am and it's a clear night out. "Flour" is like early evening in summer and there's colors everywhere in sight. “Bailed Outside” is a favorite of mine – though each time I hear “Running Through the Forest” I love it more and more for it’s energy, and the words – I listen and smile and think in some way “been there, done that.” 

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For a few people I know this album will be their first exposure to Stephen Jay’s music. I’m excited for them – they’ll walk in the room not knowing all there is to discover.
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This dark, dense jungle of an album is the perfect place to begin to explore the music of Stephen Jay for the first time. Exploring is a perfect metaphor here, as we are taken on a journey, both physical and spiritual, in the company of a warm and funny companion whose lively mind is full of questions and curiosity about the world, and everything that is in it.

The mellow warm bass-driven richness of the music is full of surprises at every turn. It makes no attempt at commercialism and consequently is able to reflect closely Jay's magpie like interest in a vast palette of different colours and shades of music from all over the world.  This "World Music" feel makes the album seem almost "live"  in places, so it luckily escapes the heaviness of over-production, and despite the lavish many-layered musical textures, it manages to retain a sparse spacious vibe to it which excites the curiosity.

Physical Answer is an exploration of the relationship between simplicity and complexity, the physical world and the spiritual dimension. It examines everything with the openness of a child looking for that answer, and I feel, concludes that spiritual enlightenment comes from understanding our physical world more fully, and preserving it, rather than living our lives as events incidental to, or conflicting with our spirituality or religious impulse.

Jay is not just a musician credited on three Grammy Award Winners, nine Grammy Nominees, nine Gold and five Platinum Albums, he is also an accomplished and thought-provoking poet who throughout this album takes us along with him on his expedition, acting as a rookie guide showing us the wonder of everything he sees in the world around him; asking us to take a second look at what we take for granted.
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I was just listening to "Can't Wait Long" and I decided that I must place a review. This song gives me tingles. The whole album is exceptional and I get something new out of it with each play. The array of sounds and Stephen Jay's warm vocals really wrap the listener in a delicious blanket of music. Just can't say enough about it... OK, back to my headphones.
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