by Robin Shannon
Offbeat - Lousiana's and New Orlean's Online Music Resouce
December, 2005

On his second solo release, guitarist Jesse Moore enlists the help of a few heavy hitters in the New Orleans music scene. More Than Life Itself, Moore’s bluesy, roots-rock follow-up to The Hoodoo Man, features the keyboard stylings of John Gros, and the guitar expertise of John Fohl and Anders Osborne, who also produced the album with Moore. This stable of musical talent certainly boosts the quality level, but it would be all for naught if it weren’t for Moore’s songwriting prowess. His lyrics are heartfelt and personal, almost like excerpts from a journal. His songs tell a compelling story of a happy relationship (“More Than Life Itself”) that somehow falls apart (“Stranger in the Band”). Once the damage is done, he considers the love he’s lost (“Late Night, All Alone”) and finally comes to realize nothing really lasts anyway (“Forever”, “Not Really”).

Moore’s creative lyrics are complemented nicely by the vast musical and instrumental charm of all the musicians involved. More Than Life Itself offers a little something for everyone. It starts off with the funky, Neville Brothers-style, title track moves on to a mixture of blues and R&B with “Taste Your Tears” and “It’s Gonna be OK”, then steers toward rock on “Forever.” Moore even offers a bit of country with a unique rendition of Lyle Lovett’s “If I Had A Boat.” This mixture of sounds allows each song to have its own distinctive, personal feel, but does not interfere with the cohesiveness of the album as a whole. He sums things up nicely on the concluding track, an extended version of “It’s Gonna Be OK” with a very gratifying, multi-layered, guitar-driven funk-rock prelude. The album is solid, and well produced from start to finish.