“All That’s Mine To Give” by Jim Peterik 

Some might say it’s debatable, but from where I sit, America hasn’t been this musically active and engaged as a collective society in generations, and it’s in this spirit that artists like Jim Peterik are rising to the occasion with sounds and familiar melodies that need to be heard once more. Peterik is attracting a lot of buzz this season on the strength of his new single “All That’s Mine To Give” and its lyric video, and even if you’re not the least bit interested in hearing any more about the quality of the underground scene right now, it’s sporting a legitimacy of statement and self you have to hear to believe. 

Right off the bat, the first thing I noticed about this single was its instrumental arrangement. Equally dexterous and decadent but not quite enough of either for me to describe the overall finished product as being unnecessarily indulgent, “All That’s Mine To Give” has a few moments in which it sounds a lot more complicated than it is, but none of this is because of plastic cosmetics in the master mix. The instrumentation is organic, and when unraveled from behind the glass, it’s a rather black-and-white pop composition free of any useless aural fat.   

The lead vocal in this song is really warm and sweet, but it’s not the centerpiece of “All That’s Mine To Give” at any point. Instead, its harmony with the guitar parts creates the perfect framing for the lyrics, bringing forth even more emotion than we would have encountered through the precision of the execution or any fireworks in the backing band’s play. There are ways to conservatively build an epic pop ballad, and this is one that I think a lot of Peterik’s young contemporaries could stand to learn a thing or two from.   

Aesthetical balance can be the difference between a good pop track and a legendary release, and it’s pretty clear to me that this artist takes it as seriously as he needs to when he’s in the studio after listening to “All That’s Mine To Give.” Keeping the narrative in the lyricism our main focus was always the top priority for Jim Peterik, and in bringing in just enough of an adult contemporary influence on the instrumental portion of the music to make the verses sound and feel more surreal and haunting, he not only produces a multifaceted single but proves himself quite a calculated player in general.   

I didn’t know much about Jim Peterik before “All That’s Mine To Give,” but you can bet I’m going to be looking out for more of his music as he finds more success in the American underground over the next few years. This is a good look for his genre and an important message that doesn’t get lost in translation, even with the music being as entrancing as it can be on more than one occasion, and if you consider that all of it is coming from an act that is relatively under the mainstream radar, it’s difficult to dismiss his as anything other than a stunning artistry with plenty of potential.   

Mindy McCall