I was looking forward to hearing all these but I wasn't prepared for how great they sound! I have to admit, I'm old and jaded and I sort of dare any new music to surprise me and this album certainly did -Jimmy takes chances on all levels, from the writing to the production to the performances. Its a culmination of a life worth of work and released just in time for his recognition back in his home state, South Dakota, into the Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement for producing, writing, recording and singing his music and all the artists through the years he's worked with.
The first tune I listened to was "We Were One" and it has some dangerous, groundbreaking guitar work that surrounds his melody in ways that takes you to places you're not expecting. I was hooked after hearing this cut.
I love the "He's In Your Mind" as it all sounds fresh and all those musicians he's hung with through the years are put to good work. The lead vocal shows off his range, dexterity and above all, its dripping with soul. Soul is a word that's overused but when it fits, like in this tune, its the only word that best describes it. You can trust someone who has been around to NOT put you through vocal calisthenics just to be showing off. I can hear years of roadwork coming through his voice yet it still retains the smoothness, energy and clarity of a much younger man.
If you've ever been faced with standing in front of a microphone in the studio, its enough to wake you the fuck up. You've got stories to tell, colors to paint, adventures to realize and that mic will tell it all down to every last note you sing to it. Only, you have to bring the goods. It dares you to "tell us something we don't already know," and he does.
"Is It Just Me," had me on the opening chords. This is a great R&B ballad that features Genevieve on background vocals slipping and sliding all over the place making her daddy sound so good. If you're a musician and you're going to have children, lucky you if they can join in for the fun. And if they happened to have a Grammy or two hanging on their wall, more for the better.
"Live Line" has some funky bass going on in the verse. Some tasty guitar here and there and one great guitar solo.
I could go on, but you get the idea; its a lifetime of work represented here and you owe to yourself (and Jimmy) to check it out.
“2023 is still quite active, and while I haven’t heard a lot of new records from the alternative country underground yet, this is easily one of the best LPs I’ve listened to so far of any genre.” - Mindy McCall
“Late Check-In finds ways to be exceptionally provocative, deeply relatable, and starkly vulnerable in moments where we would least expect it to be, and among the independent singer/songwriter LPs that I’ve had the pleasure of looking at this summer, it is far and away the most aesthetically complete and inarguably listenable.” - Anne Hollister
“…but from where I sit, Late Check-In is a watershed moment for his discography; inside of its fourteen songs, it introduces us to an unrestrained Jimmy Goings who isn’t shy about putting everything out on the table both lyrically and instrumentally…” - Chadwick Easton