Jake Shimabukuro – Jake & Friends (2LP)

Album Info Hide Show Artist: Jake Shimabukuro Album: Jake & Friends Released: Europe, 2021 Tracklist: A1 A Place In The Sun A2 Sonny Days Ahead A3 All You Need Is Love A4 Smokin’ Strings B1 Why Not B2 Find Yourself B3 On The Road To Freedom C1 Come Monday C2 Something C3 Two High C4 A Day In The Life C5 Go Now D1 Wrapping Paper D2 Stardust D3 The Rose D4 Get Together Info About Buying Vinyl From Our Record Store We are a small independent record store located at 211 High St, Preston in Melbourne, Australia (North of Northcote, between Thornbury & Reservoir) We buy and sell new and used vinyl records – if you have a collection you’d like to sell please click here . We ship Australia wide for a flat rate of $10 for standard shipping or $15 for express post. Free Shipping for orders $150 and over. You can also pick up your order in store, just select Local Pickup at the checkout. We also ship internationally – prices vary depending on weight and location. We ship vinyls in thick, rigid carboard mailers with a crushable zone on either side, and for extra safety we bubble wrap the records. In stock vinyl is usally shipped next business day, please check the availability field at the top of the product page to see whether the record is currently in stock or if it is available from the supplier as well as estimated shipping times. If you order an in stock item together with a pre order or back order (listed as available from supplier rather than in stock) then the order will be shipped together when all items arrive. If you would like the in stock items shipped first please place two separate orders or contact us to arrange shipping items separately. We are strongly committed to customer satisfaction. If you experience any problems with your order contact us so we can rectify the situation. If the record arrives damaged or doesn’t arrive we will cover the cost of replacing or returning the record. If you change your mind you have 30 days to return your record but you must cover the cost of returning it to the store. You can contact our Melbourne record shop at (03) 9939 3807 or at [email protected] Happy Listening! Description Hide Show Jake & Friends lands like a love letter to the uke and the wide circle of artists whove championed Jake Shimabukuro over the years. Dropping in November 2021 on Mascot Label Groups Music Theories Recordings imprint, it gathers a crosssection of icons and kindred spirits and lets Jake do what hes always done best: make four strings feel like a full orchestra. Rolling Stone spotlighted the star power when the album was announced, but the real pleasure is how natural these pairings sound once the needle hits the groove. Start with Two High featuring Moon Taxi. The Nashville bands buoyant tune turns into a sunlit road trip, Jakes rippling arpeggios pushing the chorus a little higher each time. Its not a stunt. Its a legit conversation between his uke and a band that already knows how to bottle a summer afternoon. Then theres Come Monday with Jimmy Buffett, a collaboration that feels like destiny. Buffett was an early supporter of Jake, and you can hear that history in the easy sway of this version. The vocal sits relaxed and unforced, while Jake paints the margins with harmonics and gentle tremolo. Its the sound of old friends taking their time. The emotional centerpiece for many will be The Rose with Bette Midler. She doesnt have to oversell it. Her voice carries decades of stage and screen lore, and she lets the lyric breathe. Jake answers with careful, choirlike voicings, then slips into a solo that never upstages her. Its dignified and tender, the kind of track that makes you stop fussing with the stereo and just listen. On Stardust with Willie Nelson, the pairing feels just as right. Willies history with the song is deep, and Jake threads a melodic line around that unmistakable phrasing. He leans into the tunes jazz roots, playing with space and glide, and the result has the latenight warmth you want from a standard. Part of the charm here is how Jake frames his guests without losing his own voice. Hes always had that delicate, percussive right hand, the muting that gives each chord a heartbeat, the quick slides that mimic a singers breath. On Jake & Friends he sets those tools inside arrangements that respect the original songs. You can hear it in the dynamics, in how verses stay intimate and choruses lift without turning into fireworks. Its collaborative in the truest sense, not a jukebox of namechecks. Production is clean and unfussy, which suits these performances. The album moves easily from island breeze to soft rock to a light jazz shimmer, but it never feels stitched together. Part of that comes from Jakes tone, that woody, present sound he coaxes from the uke, and part comes from choosing songs that fit the artist in the room rather than forcing anyone into a lane. You get different flavors, same kitchen. If you spin records, the Jake & Friends vinyl is worth the shelf space. Acoustic instruments bloom with a little extra air, and the quiet passages feel especially intimate when youre locked into a side. I found myself recueing The Rose just to let that hush fill the room again. For collectors who focus on Jake Shimabukuro vinyl, this one sits nicely next to Grand Ukulele and Nashville Sessions, but it scratches a different itch. Its a hangout album, a set you put on when friends drop by and end up staying longer than planned. Theres also a little cultural time capsule in here. Collaboration became a lifeline for musicians in the years leading up to 2021, and you can sense the gratitude in these takes. No grandstanding. Just seasoned players meeting in the middle and leaving space for each other. It explains why fans keep hunting for Jake Shimabukuro albums on vinyl, and why shops keep getting asked about it. If youre browsing a Melbourne record store on a Saturday or scrolling through vinyl records Australia late at night, this is the kind of record you add to cart without thinking twice. And if you like to buy Jake Shimabukuro records online, this ones a gateway for friends who might not know him yet. Put it on, say nothing, and wait for the question that always comes next: who is this, and how is a ukulele doing that? Product Reviews Hide Show Write a Review