| JJ Grey & Mofro — This River (2013) |
JJ Grey & Mofro — This River
Location: Jacksonville, Florida
Album release: April 16, 2013
Record Label: Alligator Records
Duration: 49:02
Tracks:
01. Your Lady, She's Shady (3:10)
02. Somebody Else (4:40)
03. Tame A Wild One (4:21)
04. 99 Shades Of Crazy (4:52)
05. The Ballad Of Larry Webb (4:54)
06. Florabama (5:08)
07. Standing On The Edge (5:02)
08. Write A Letter (5:21)
09. Harp & Drums (6:15)
10. This River (5:19)
Members:
¤ JJ Grey
¤ Andrew Trube
¤ Art Edmaiston
¤ Dennis Marion
¤ Anthony "AC" Cole
¤ Anthony Farrell
¤ Todd Smallie
Past members:
¤ Fabrice Quentin
¤ George Sluppick
¤ Nathan Shepard
¤ Mike Shapiro
¤ Adam Scone
¤ Craig Barnette
¤ Steve Cybulski
¤ Daryl Hance
¤ Bea "B.B.Queen" Gayle
CREDITS:
¤ Jesse Aratow Executive Producer
¤ Anthony Cole Drums, Organ
¤ Art Edmaiston Sax (Baritone), Sax (Tenor)
¤ Anthony Farrell Clavinet, Composer, Guitar (Electric), Organ, Piano
¤ JJ Grey Arranger, Artwork, Bass, Composer, Guitar (12 String Acoustic), Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Harmonica, Producer, Tambourine, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
¤ Ken Lee Mastering
¤ Stan Lynch Guest Artist, Shaker
¤ Dennis Marion Trumpet
¤ Mofro Primary Artist
¤ Dan Prothero Editing, Engineer, Mixing, Photography, Producer
¤ Todd Smallie Bass
¤ Andrew Trube Composer, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Lap Steel Guitar
ALBUM MOODS: -Confident-Greasy-Gritty-Passionate-Warm-Earthy-Gutsy-Organic-Brassy-Street-Smart
ALBUM THEMES: -Drinking-Hanging Out-Guys Night Out-Partying
Website: http://www.jjgrey.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/mofroband
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MOFROBAND
Merch: http://www.merchlackey.com/mofro/
Base Line: http://mofro.baselineticketing.com/allev...
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mofronet/sets/
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/JJGreyMusic
Madison House: http://www.madisonhouseinc.com
Press contact: Marc Lipkin,
¤ "This River is chock-full of vibrant characters and compelling stories set to Stax-worthy soul, greasy Southern rock and funk and glorious ballads that stay with you long after the last notes fade. Gutsy vocals, rugged horns and muscular grooves come together to create a down-home musical celebration."
JJ Grey mérite absolument d'etre mieux connu. Un excellent album.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Review by Thom Jurek (Editor rating: ***½)
¤ Fans of JJ Grey and his ever evolving band Mofro will be delighted that the Florida swamp sage lives by the dictum "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" on This River. If anything, Grey has doubled down on the grittier, funkier aspects of 2010's Georgia Warhorse, and brought the studio closer to the stage to boot. The sound on this record is live, crackling. Half of its ten tracks are crunchy uptempo numbers that flex their funky muscles. The rest is balanced between well-articulated soul tunes, a rock number, and back-porch ballads. Set opener "Your Lady, She's Shady" is a crusty, greasy funk attack, while "Somebody Else" walks some weird line between part of the melody from the Classics IV's "Spooky" (courtesy of the Atlanta Rhythm Section's cover), vocal phrasing by Wilson Pickett, and guitars, bass, and horns coming straight from Stax. Speaking of which, the horn chart and melody in "Tame a Wild One" come right out of the late '60s -- and in the grain of Grey's whiskey voice, it feels right. "99 Shades of Crazy" is dirty-ass blues-rock inspired by Delaney Bramlett and Sticky Fingers-era Rolling Stones. Choppy syncopated funk makes its return in "Florabama," and one can feel Muscle Shoals dripping from the horns. While this is definitely retro, Grey's fans expect it; they want it. His songs and his presence as a frontman keep things choogling. But there is a surprise in every track -- the jazz-funk trumpet and Rhodes solos in the jumping, grimy "Harp & Drums" are a prime example. The songs on This River are tighter and more deftly written than on previous offerings, but the more immediate, in-the-moment-of-creation production and incendiary performances keep things from getting slick.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Review by Tyler Quiring (Editor rating: 9/10)
¤ After a decade of touring and five studio records in the bag, JJ Grey (with supporting band Mofro) releases his sixth studio album April 16, and it is a record worthy of a good listen. The album is named for the St. John’s River, a waterway near Grey’s hometown of Jacksonville, Florida. Fans will know all this and likely have already caught the album streaming on Spotify, but for the uninitiated here is our perspective.
Since his recording debut in 2001 with his first release Blackwater, Grey has steadily built up a solid fan base through a combination of regular releases and relentless touring and festival appearances. Along the way, he’s honed his band’s lineup – finding the perfect mix of talent he calls “the creme de la crème” – and even had a mini-documentary made about him and his work on Georgia Warhorse, his most recent studio album prior to This River.
¤ But what does the new album actually sound like? This River carries sentiments of the band’s earlier sound, intermittently languid and lively, tempered with tracts of traditional southern blues styles. The band doesn’t overshadow Grey, but doesn’t get lost in the background, either. The whole unit works like a well-oiled machine, powerfully spilling out their magic over the canvas of the record’s 49-minute duration. The group manages to be simultaneously cohesive and creative, finding ways of entertaining throughout while wrapping the whole experience up in bands of familiarity and fond reminiscence.
¤ This River is not only a title indicative of location, but of method and arrangement as well. The record twists and turns through ten beefy tracks to serve up a uniquely satisfying sojourn of southern blues delivered through passion and heartfelt musicianship. Just like a river, it serves as functional and transportive. It continually entices while bringing the listener through its myriad of redirections to an expanded sea of understanding, marked by the milestone of the ending title track, a look back on the journey that was embarked upon. This river takes you places.
The Review: 9/10
Can’t Miss Tracks:
¤ - Somebody Else
¤ - 99 Shades of Crazy
¤ - Standing on the Edge
¤ - This River
The Big Hit:
¤ - This River
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© Situated in Grandfather Mountain Campground in Boone, North Carolina, Music On The Mountaintop brought on the funk for three days of nonstop jamming.
| JJ Grey & Mofro — This River (2013) |
JJ Grey & Mofro — This River
© Situated in Grandfather Mountain Campground in Boone, North Carolina, Music On The Mountaintop brought on the funk for three days of nonstop jamming.
Location: Jacksonville, Florida
Album release: April 16, 2013
Record Label: Alligator Records
Duration: 49:02
Tracks:
01. Your Lady, She's Shady (3:10)
02. Somebody Else (4:40)
03. Tame A Wild One (4:21)
04. 99 Shades Of Crazy (4:52)
05. The Ballad Of Larry Webb (4:54)
06. Florabama (5:08)
07. Standing On The Edge (5:02)
08. Write A Letter (5:21)
09. Harp & Drums (6:15)
10. This River (5:19)
Members:
¤ JJ Grey
¤ Andrew Trube
¤ Art Edmaiston
¤ Dennis Marion
¤ Anthony "AC" Cole
¤ Anthony Farrell
¤ Todd Smallie
Past members:
¤ Fabrice Quentin
¤ George Sluppick
¤ Nathan Shepard
¤ Mike Shapiro
¤ Adam Scone
¤ Craig Barnette
¤ Steve Cybulski
¤ Daryl Hance
¤ Bea "B.B.Queen" Gayle
CREDITS:
¤ Jesse Aratow Executive Producer
¤ Anthony Cole Drums, Organ
¤ Art Edmaiston Sax (Baritone), Sax (Tenor)
¤ Anthony Farrell Clavinet, Composer, Guitar (Electric), Organ, Piano
¤ JJ Grey Arranger, Artwork, Bass, Composer, Guitar (12 String Acoustic), Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Harmonica, Producer, Tambourine, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
¤ Ken Lee Mastering
¤ Stan Lynch Guest Artist, Shaker
¤ Dennis Marion Trumpet
¤ Mofro Primary Artist
¤ Dan Prothero Editing, Engineer, Mixing, Photography, Producer
¤ Todd Smallie Bass
¤ Andrew Trube Composer, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Lap Steel Guitar
ALBUM MOODS: -Confident-Greasy-Gritty-Passionate-Warm-Earthy-Gutsy-Organic-Brassy-Street-Smart
ALBUM THEMES: -Drinking-Hanging Out-Guys Night Out-Partying
Website: http://www.jjgrey.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/mofroband
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MOFROBAND
Merch: http://www.merchlackey.com/mofro/
Base Line: http://mofro.baselineticketing.com/allev...
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mofronet/sets/
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/JJGreyMusic
Madison House: http://www.madisonhouseinc.com
Press contact: Marc Lipkin,
¤ "This River is chock-full of vibrant characters and compelling stories set to Stax-worthy soul, greasy Southern rock and funk and glorious ballads that stay with you long after the last notes fade. Gutsy vocals, rugged horns and muscular grooves come together to create a down-home musical celebration."
JJ Grey mérite absolument d'etre mieux connu. Un excellent album.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Review by Thom Jurek (Editor rating: ***½)
¤ Fans of JJ Grey and his ever evolving band Mofro will be delighted that the Florida swamp sage lives by the dictum "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" on This River. If anything, Grey has doubled down on the grittier, funkier aspects of 2010's Georgia Warhorse, and brought the studio closer to the stage to boot. The sound on this record is live, crackling. Half of its ten tracks are crunchy uptempo numbers that flex their funky muscles. The rest is balanced between well-articulated soul tunes, a rock number, and back-porch ballads. Set opener "Your Lady, She's Shady" is a crusty, greasy funk attack, while "Somebody Else" walks some weird line between part of the melody from the Classics IV's "Spooky" (courtesy of the Atlanta Rhythm Section's cover), vocal phrasing by Wilson Pickett, and guitars, bass, and horns coming straight from Stax. Speaking of which, the horn chart and melody in "Tame a Wild One" come right out of the late '60s -- and in the grain of Grey's whiskey voice, it feels right. "99 Shades of Crazy" is dirty-ass blues-rock inspired by Delaney Bramlett and Sticky Fingers-era Rolling Stones. Choppy syncopated funk makes its return in "Florabama," and one can feel Muscle Shoals dripping from the horns. While this is definitely retro, Grey's fans expect it; they want it. His songs and his presence as a frontman keep things choogling. But there is a surprise in every track -- the jazz-funk trumpet and Rhodes solos in the jumping, grimy "Harp & Drums" are a prime example. The songs on This River are tighter and more deftly written than on previous offerings, but the more immediate, in-the-moment-of-creation production and incendiary performances keep things from getting slick.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Review by Tyler Quiring (Editor rating: 9/10)
¤ After a decade of touring and five studio records in the bag, JJ Grey (with supporting band Mofro) releases his sixth studio album April 16, and it is a record worthy of a good listen. The album is named for the St. John’s River, a waterway near Grey’s hometown of Jacksonville, Florida. Fans will know all this and likely have already caught the album streaming on Spotify, but for the uninitiated here is our perspective.
Since his recording debut in 2001 with his first release Blackwater, Grey has steadily built up a solid fan base through a combination of regular releases and relentless touring and festival appearances. Along the way, he’s honed his band’s lineup – finding the perfect mix of talent he calls “the creme de la crème” – and even had a mini-documentary made about him and his work on Georgia Warhorse, his most recent studio album prior to This River.
¤ But what does the new album actually sound like? This River carries sentiments of the band’s earlier sound, intermittently languid and lively, tempered with tracts of traditional southern blues styles. The band doesn’t overshadow Grey, but doesn’t get lost in the background, either. The whole unit works like a well-oiled machine, powerfully spilling out their magic over the canvas of the record’s 49-minute duration. The group manages to be simultaneously cohesive and creative, finding ways of entertaining throughout while wrapping the whole experience up in bands of familiarity and fond reminiscence.
¤ This River is not only a title indicative of location, but of method and arrangement as well. The record twists and turns through ten beefy tracks to serve up a uniquely satisfying sojourn of southern blues delivered through passion and heartfelt musicianship. Just like a river, it serves as functional and transportive. It continually entices while bringing the listener through its myriad of redirections to an expanded sea of understanding, marked by the milestone of the ending title track, a look back on the journey that was embarked upon. This river takes you places.
The Review: 9/10
Can’t Miss Tracks:
¤ - Somebody Else
¤ - 99 Shades of Crazy
¤ - Standing on the Edge
¤ - This River
The Big Hit:
¤ - This River
------------------------------------------------------------------