JENNY TOLMAN - Ain't No Good For Me - Old Sol Records

The lifeblood of Nashville sits within its incredible songwriting community. From emotion to emotion, the transparent stories weaved from real-life experiences have continually been the resonating factor for connecting these three-minute diaries straight to the heart of the listener.

Modern day troubadour Jenny Tolman has certainly proven that she can throw down a boot heel clicked anthem (“Married In A Honky Tonk,” “Home To Roost,” or “There Goes The Neighborhood”), but the vulnerability she’s held on her latest singles, “Timbuktu” and “Rodeo Must Be Woman,” intriguingly placed bright spotlight on her songwriting prowess and gifted abilities to grip each heart-tugged word.

She now pulls back the proverbial curtain on her Broke Down In Jennyville Sessions, allowing a peek into the crafting of a song from inception to tape, using this stripped down body of work to highlight the ideas, the work tapes, and the passionate fuel that guides a song to life. 

Leading the way is the previously unreleased, “Ain’t No Good For Me.”

Written by Tolman, Dave Brainard, and Jeff Silbar, the session version of this song really elevates the rawness of her afflicted vocals, shading them softly in perfectly placed acoustic instrumentation that swerves a modern era approach into classic country ideals.

Outlining the difficulty of walking away from someone, a long-tenured relationship, even when you know it’s no good for you, Tolman’s also clearly reached the heartbroken point of understanding as she runs a list of “it’s over” truths through the opening verse, relaying to him that he could say he’s sorry, bring her roses, and make her laugh, but none of those wasted efforts can change the simple fact that they’re not good for each other anymore.

However, by using the second half of the song to twist reminiscent memories of way back when, the moments that were likely keeping her holding hope that things could change for the better, she not only delicately walks a gamut of honest, vulnerable emotions but further enhances the pain-induced reasoning in the chorus as to why she has to walk away:

“You say you’ve had time for thinkin

Swear that you quit drinkin’

Ain’t touched a drop in over a week

But there’s pain that I still feel

And these bruises ain’t quite healed

It took the hard-core truth to set me free

The truth is you just ain’t no good for me”

Through its realness in transparency, a message of hope embeds itself into the depth of the lyrics, allowing the song to expertly reach through the speakers as a warm embrace that encourages you to discover the strength to leave something/someone who is toxic to your life, while holding on to the absolute knowing that you’ll be okay on the other side of walking away.

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis)

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