Ace guitarist, Jordan Officer is still one. What comes out of his fingers mesmerizes and seduces, without a particle of pretension, without ever bragging. He plays like a Merle Travis, a Les Paul, a Jerry Reed, a Chet Atkins, a James Burton, a Don Rich, among other famous guitar slingers, the list is long. For a long time, that was enough for him (as if that wasn’t enough, mazette!), but the fact is that for a long time he seemed to pale behind his dexterity. Behind his mentors at Bistro à Jojo, then accompanist of (the fabulous and unstoppable) Susie Arioli, we got to know him little by little, as he dared to show himself above his guitar necks. And little by little, we heard him singing, almost against his will, as if the speaker was coming out of his back.
And now, that’s it, he sings for the sake of singing. Like never before. This is the title of his new album, his sixth: Like Never Before. It took him fifteen years to occupy the forefront of his own career, and take the best place in the mixing of his recordings. “Yes, it’s finally happening,” he admits as if he’s been released from his own prison. “Even I see and hear myself differently. It’s quite a revolution that I’ve experienced over the last two years. To know myself better, to be closer to my emotions… » A short break in the work room where we find ourselves, just above the Lion d’Or, on the floor which served as a hotel a few years ago. a century. “It’s been two years since I stopped drinking. I wasn’t someone who drank to excess, but it was in the background, a little in my mind. It was my little refuge. »
The simple confession
He says this with disarming calm, without drama. “My decision to quit was not very well thought out. It just happened, that’s all. A desire to know if I could. So not only was I able to, but it triggered a whole series of attitude changes. I understood afterwards that drinking had been a buffer for everything. A little anesthesia, which was there, whatever happened. And the more time passed without a single drop, the more I felt that I felt everything more intensely. Goosebumps while playing. Crazy laughs. I burst into tears when I find that the music is really beautiful. I discovered myself… sensual. A man capable of desiring, and not just desiring, to do a good guitar solo. »
All this can be heard and felt through Like Never Before, this aptly named album. The country base remains, blues and R&B are still the foundations of the style dear to Jordan Officer, but this album is primarily… soulful. From the soul to the full. Think Al Green, Bill Withers, Joe South, Tony Joe White, southern soul music as it was understood in the late 1960s and first half of the 1970s (before disco). The moment of meeting between white and African-American musicians, at Stax and Muscle Shoals. The moment when we sang some essential truths to each other.
A team of fire to never go out
“With Alain Bergé, Alex McMahon and Morgan Moore at the heart of the music, with the collaboration of Ariane Moffatt and Brad Barr, with Guillaume Chartrain at the console, I felt stronger, more supported than ever. I understood myself better, I coped better with my attention deficit disorder, I could be me without shutting down and catching fire. Be me, be good as me. It’s a lot easier to sing without embarrassment. Playing was my solution and my escape. But singing what I am, with the help of Dominic Desjardins for the lyrics, was truly extraordinary for me. »
Each song reveals the man. The titles already say it all. The explicit title song is followed by other equally meaningful titles: I Just Need to Feel Your Love, Doing Everything I Can. I’ll Be There is particularly telling: “ In the game of life / Great battles are fought / With fear and sadness charging / You need a special kind of horse / To concentrate on your lance and shield / A steady rock to fight the gods. » A medieval combat vocabulary little used in soul music, a sort of crusade that sounds the charge. He had it in him, the Jordan! “Yes, you have to believe so. » Visible pride. Beautiful smile without blushing. To put it biblically, Jordan crossed his river Jordan. He now officiates on the other side, at the forefront of his own life. Armed with an album that is undeniably his best. His flagship.
“I can’t wait to show up with no other armor than the desire to be there. » Without getting upset, at Studio TD, in a trio format, he will pierce our hearts, there is no doubt about it, and we will all want to reveal ourselves like him.