 Reach
deep into your pockets and try and pull out some blue gold about Canadian Blues artists! You'll look in your hand and find only
a few musicians that truly represent Canada on the world Blues
scene. Ya, I know you'll see Downchild, King Biscuit Boy, the
Whiteley brothers, to name a few, but you can't deny that Johnny V
will be in your palm. Not only has Johnny had the incredible
opportunity to play and record with most Blues artists here in
"The Great White North" but he has also played with many
of his mentors in the Blues world.
Please stop me! I can talk about Johnny for hours, so let's get into
his latest release. I won't get into the title, as there's a note
with the CD to explain his reason of why! On the heels of his
previous recordings, "Roosters and Hens", "Terra
Firma Boogie", "If My Daddy Could See Me Now",
"Blues Party" (with the Latvian Blues Band) and
"Mustard And Relics"' comes 17 great tunes on this new
album that features, once again, Johnny's great lyrics, tasteful guitar lines
and one of the most powerful voices in the Blues. And backing all of
his talent, some of the finest musicians that you'll ever hear, V's
House Rent Party Band with Duris Maxwell on Drums and liner notes, Chris
Byrne on Bass, Brock Gillis on Hammond B3, Pete Fischer on Piano,
Sherman Doucette on Harmonica, Sonny Rhodes as a special guest vocalist, Mike Clark on Sax, Paul
Ashwell on Trombone and Tuba, and
Karen Fowlie supplying her vocals to The New Swan Sewertones.
If there was ever a tune that could embed you into the grooves of an
album, the opening track, "The Return Of Richard's
Biscuit" will hit ya in the head like a frozen puck! It's a
tribute to Johnny's close friend and mentor Richard Newell (AKA King
Biscuit Boy). It's an amalgamation of the great boogies he learned
about from Richard with Johnny's slide guitar and story telling that
will take
you back to the magic times they shared together. The song's main
theme is a variation on "Feeling Good", recorded for the
Memphis label Sun Records by Junior Parker in 1952. The first
transition is into a boogie by another Sun artist Dr. Isaiah Ross
with examples of his early 50's tunes, "Doctor Ross
Boogie", "The Boogie Disease" and "Polly Put The
Kettle On", which were all leased to Chess Records. Then the
band drops out and in comes the V layin' down John Lee Hooker's
first boogie styles from the late 40's and he even throws in a
little Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith just to set the record
straight. At close to eleven minutes in length, this track can only
be described as a vibratin', pulsatin', oscillatin', agitatin',
circulatin', gyratin', palpitatin', leg breakin', hip-shakin', back
bacon boogie 'till the break of day!!!
Up next are two Cousin Joe (Pleasant Joseph) compositions back to
back. "My Tight Woman" from 1946 features V's stingin'
guitar riffs in a killer arrangement with a full blowin' horn
section. The slow acoustic Blues that follows will surly haunt you with it's
lyrics and remind all the fellas that it's just as "Dangerous
To Be A Husband" today as it was in '47.
Johnny's instrumental "Branding By Moonlight" is a
catchy little dance number featuring "The Mighty Scorned
Horns" blowing a section solo. The Boss Brass will eat their
hearts out after hearing this one.
One of my favourite songs done by Jimmy McCracklin
was "Let's Do It" in '59 (the flip side of his hit
"Georgia Slop") and Johnny takes us on a musical journey
back in history to another time and place with this one. Excellent
solo by saxman Mike Clark.
"Green's Blues" is Johnny's dedication
to Houston guitarist Clarence Green and V shows us a whole new side
of his playing on this one. The Hammond B3 and the Trombone section
really set the mood for JV's acoustic guitar playing to take us
away.
Johnny's a big fan of Howard Tate who's an
inspirational soul singer from the 1960s. V does a great version of
Howard's 1967 tune "Stop" which is penned by the
incredible lyricist Jerry Ragavoy.
A tune about Louisiana just had to be included in
the mix and JV's song "New Louisiana Blues" tells all
about him and his wife checking out the scene down there.
JV's composition "Joe's Mercy Killing"
is a clever instrumental that blends mordant humour with excellent
musicianship. Clark's solos are reminiscent of free jazz innovator
Ornette Coleman.
Blues legend Sonny Rhodes just happened to be in Calgary when
Johnny was recording and dropped by the studio to hang out with his
old friend. It didn't take much coaxing for Sonny to take over the
vocal chair on the soulful, and oh so meaningful Johnny V original,
"Living On The Outside".
Looking for a Blues song that speaks about today's
reality? Listen to Johnny's lyrics and slide solo in "Suicide
Bomber Blues" and see if you ain't thinking a little different
after this one.
After that hard reality lesson Johnny gets you
back up again with another original penned by him and Bob Erlandson
who taught Lenny Breau theory. The tune is a jazz influenced
instrumental called "Tataria" and features a 5 over 4
transition based on Tartar rhythms and even has Duris chanting east
Indian tabla grooves.
And if you're a fan of those Blues classics,
you're sure to enjoy Johnny's half time groove on Big Joe Williams'
1935 standard, "Baby Please Don't Go", followed by his
cover of John Lee Williamson's (Sonny Boy Williamson #1) 1937 Blues
hit "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl". V recorded the
latter playing an electric twelve-string slide guitar, a first for
him. Leave it to Johnny to come up with a fresh approach to these
blues standards. Very nice!
I know Johnny's a huge fan of Louisiana born
singer/songwriter Ron Davies (not to be confused with Ray Davies of
The Kinks) and V steps a little outside the Blues playground to
perform "It Ain't Easy". The tune features "The New
Swan Sewertones" on background vocals.
We're very close to the end of this great album
when out of nowhere Johnny hits you with a jazz inspired
instrumental called "Sprinklehead". Johnny told he penned
this one after analyzing the time signatures of park sprinklers and
writing grooves around them. Paul Ashwell's Trombone solo really
captures the essence of the tune and Johnny's liner notes that say "I'll never go near Lysol
again", and I don't blame him.
All great things must to come to an end, so with
the sounds of "Last Date" playin' in the background and
your partner in your arms, it's time for that last slow dance with
your date!
To be straight-forward about this CD, at close to
seventy-five minutes of playin' time, there's a mood for every
moment in our musical lives.
What I've written about Johnny's new CD can be
easily summed up with a few simple words borrowed from the comments,
posted on many Blues sites, by another Blues friend and fan Sluggo
when he said "Whoop-ass Boogie". After one listen, that
says it all! I just know in my blue heart that Johnny's latest
release will definitely get major radio play here in Canada as well
as the Blues scene worldwide . I'll even go so far as to say that
Johnny V will be considered for, or receive many Blues awards for
this excellent Blues offering. Let's hope what I believe is
right.
"Highly Recommended" is a common
statement used in the strange world of reviewers, well to hell with
proprieties, and conventions, if you're lookin' for pure gold in the
Blues, with some change, always count on Johnny V Mills to deliver!
I say "GET IT!" Eddy B
Please note: Inside every CD you'll receive
a petition from Johnny to have Richard "King Biscuit Boy"
Newell enrolled in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. I'm with Johnny
on this and we're counting on you to show your support by filling it
in and mailing it to the address on the back of the petition. Way to
go Johnny and thanks for taking the time and effort for all his fans
and friends. Biscuit deserves it!
To get a copy of the CD and download the petition for King
Biscuit Boy, check out Johnny V's website: www.johnnyv.org
|
