Jonathan Stiers' Affliction Addiction - One Fan's Pre-Release Review!
by Brian Smith Thursday, October 14, 2010 at 9:12pm
When Jonathan told me he was going to send me a copy of the master for his new CD Affliction Addiction, I have to admit I was not only excited but also left feeling just a wee bit smug: Even though I have heard the works "in progress" for the past year, I couldn't help but think of all the other fans who would be more than a little jealous. That being said, I'm going to take the opportunity that comes with this great fortune and "review" this sultry, sophisticated and, more than once, a little shocking upcoming release.The CD begins with the title track, and know that it truly sets the mood for the rest of the album. "Can't find all the pieces, they're too small. Can't fix what is broken, but I'm still looking for them all - I'm gonna find them all...." This moody ballad introduces Jonathan's use of guitar throughout many of the upcoming tracks, and the ethereal background tones completely draw you in. Everyone knows his ability to set every heartbreak to music; this track is strong, emotionally and vocally. The quiet guitar intro slowly merges into his signature piano, culminating in a declaration of what's to come.
"One Man Trapeze" is a masterpiece, as many of you may have anticipated from the production teasers posted on Jonathan's fan page. Melodic harmonies and sweet piano/string movements set the heart weeping in this look at love and loss. It's practically impossible to listen and not see the movie playing in your mind.
This is not an album comprised of nothing but piano ballads. One of my personal favorites is "Mourning Fills the Room," and you've never heard this Jonathan before. Slow and deliberate, an incredible blend of electronic orchestration melds seamlessly with low piano. Add to this an almost chilling vocal performance echoing with the displaced emotional damage that simultaneously courses with longing. "If I hold back, keep on turning back, and I feel you pulling back - I reach out for you."
Military-style snare drums. An army of vocals full of defiance and a "fuck you too" attitude. The perfect piano accompaniment. Together they're the sexy and aggressive "Without Your Love" and yet another track of Jonathan as you've never heard him. This song is the epitome of confronting the heart breaker with a glaringly apparent look at what's been left in the wake, considering what was real and what was merely the result of desire left empty.
But don't think that the beautiful, sweeping piano ballads we've always loved Jonathan for have been left behind. "Paris Without You" evokes a classic Billy Joel sound but with raw emotion in every word. "Love Me Too" is the album's swansong, the revelation that all is not lost, and even the most battered heart can find that glimmer of love again. "'Cause by surprise, you and your eyes, they locked on mine, suspending time...."
The album's ending is a complete surprise, and I'm not going to give it away. But let's just say that "Slice of Delight" will leave you wanting the whole damn pie.
Affliction Addition is quite simply brilliant. At the end of my first listen to the whole album straight through, I didn't know whether to have sex or cry. The sensuality and the intensely intimate evocation of loves come and gone have left me wanting to listen again. And again. With every pun intended, I'm completely "addicted."
Jonathan Stiers: Press
Review: ‘Player and the Pawn’ mature effort for Stiers
(Editor’s note: Rachel Newton, a former entertainment editor of the Morning News of Northwest Arkansas, is currently the editor of the Arsenal Sentinel, an Army newspaper for the personnel of the Pine Bluff Arsenal (Arkansas)
By Rachel Newton
You might expect to hear this artist’s music lilting coolly over the speakers at some out-of-the-way coffee shop or indie record store tucked in the back of a strip mall, however, self-taught pianist and composer Jonathan Stiers deserves so much more than a casual listen. His music deserves to be played over and over until you wear the album out.
With a refreshing sense of self, Stiers plunges deep into the world of relationship love, loss and longing in his fifth album “The Player and the Pawn.”
His song writing on this latest effort reflects great maturity and growth since his last original effort “Spare a Dime” from 1999. By digging deep into his personal life and the world around him, Stiers’ haunting piano melodies mixed with a good amount of drums, base and keyboard allow the listener to fall into his shoes for just a brief moment in time.
“Circumstance (Afterglow),” the first track, is a little different but it is that difference that makes it one of the most real and refreshing cuts from this artist since “Lead Me To Drink” (“Spare a Dime”). “The games we play…this superficial place. Has a way of making everything all right and…Just how long will we be able to sustain this front this time?””
A Northwest Arkansas native, Stiers started singing and playing piano at age seven. Although never formally trained, he said in a recent phone interview that he did take one piano lesson when he was 15. “The teacher told me I was holding my hands all wrong when I played,” he said. Well, even if he is “doing it all wrong,” there is nothing wrong with the piano playing on this album. It is in a word mystical.
As our musical journey continues Stiers offers us “Waiting.” The overlapping lyrics on this track are so precise and sharp that the listener can’t help but sing along. “I want a love, a love in this life…Or is the answer that this is why I’m still waiting. Sick of waiting.”
“Will to Live” is such a song of desperation, but has a sense of hope about it too. It encourages us to never give up in the search for what we truly want out of life.
“I lost my will to live..But opened up to him. He gives me strength to carry on..when all hopes gone.”
When I first listened to this album, I was completely blown away by the lyrics. The song writing is what makes this album great.
The rocking “Wasted” pushes the listener to the edge with its lyrics and pulls them back with such precision that it makes you think for a second that Stiers is writing from a place beyond his 30-something years. “In this life I want the finer things. Not your couch with cigarette burns. Where’s the man who likes to say the things. The things he wants to hear in return.”
Stiers strength lies in his ballads, such as “Tonight’ and “Northern Lights,” which are filled with unforgettably, incredible words.
“The taste of coffee as I kiss your lips…Is the memory I hold inside. There are times when you’d call me up…In the middle of the night. But what could I do or say. When you are so far away.” (“Tonight”)
“Running out of time, feeling older. The love I had in mind is fading faster. And I want you to be the one I’m waiting for. And I want you to see that I am so much more.” (“Northern Lights”)
Stiers conveys so much raw emotion in these two songs that you can’t help but feel like you have been privileged to look in on a part of his life. “I have lived both sides of every song on this album,” he said in the phone interview. “I have been the player..and the pawn.”
The final track, “When It’s Over,” is a strategically placed cut. And, when this album has finally been played to its conclusion, the listener can’t help but stray back to the beginning and start all over again. “When it’s over. And all I can say..’Who’ll ask you to hold them now and forever? Until that day, when it’s over?”
This album gives us one final thought, embedded in the cover – “Don’t blame the Player. Blame the game.” Well, we have “played” the game, so to speak, and we want to play it again.