Jim Hurst’s ‘Open Window’ is an unpredictable, feel-good album
Reviewed by Carson James
Jim Hurst/Open Window
If, by the end of Open Window, you’re not wanting to slip the disc in for another spin, you must be having a truly bad day. Jim Hurst is one of those musicians that creates music for the sheer love of it. You will not find one cynical note or lyric on Open Window. In fact, this album is such a labor of untainted affection that Hurst can’t even hide his influences, playing homages to his heroes like Jerry Reed and James Taylor, both of whom are covered here.
What I admire the most about Open Window is its unpredictability. Opening with a bluegrass remake of Taylor’s “Nothing Like a Hundred Miles,” a poignant song about trying to get over an old flame who has found another man, Hurst follows it up with the thrilling instrumental, “Wheel Hoss.” What threads them together is that they’re all a part of Hurst – tunes that he admires or has written to pay tributes to important folks in his life, such as his wife (“17 Days”), his mother (“The Pearl of Pearl KY”), and Reed (“Swamp Reed”). It makes you feel good even when Hurst is sad, such as on the cover of “My Baby’s Gone.”
