[Harp-L] Jason Ricci - New Album: "Done with the Devil"

[Jonathan Metts <prairiedogpr@xxxxxxxxx>]

Since I've had the new Jason Ricci & New Blood album for a couple of 
weeks now, and it's still not due until April 21st, I thought I should 
share some thoughts with my fellow fans and harmonica players.  Full 
disclosure – I do some (very little) free publicity work for Jason, 
hence my connections to get the new CD before release.  But moreover, 
I'm a huge fan of the man and the band, and I'm not afraid to be 
critical of them when appropriate.  So I hope you'll find this 
information useful, despite my bias.  You won't see me write much about 
the lyrical content at this point, as I tend to focus on music first and 
don't absorb much of the lyrics until after hearing a song/album many times.

Done with the Devil is very much a follow-up to 2007's Rocket Number 9, 
which was their first major studio release.  This new album continues 
with the adventurous spirit and high production value, but I think it 
also captures the experience of seeing the band live better than 
previous releases.  Overall, it feels even less like a blues record than 
R#9, but it also feels less like straightforward rock.  In fact, there's 
nothing straightforward about Jason or his music, and this album 
respects that lovable strangeness more than ever.  There are more 
eclectic covers this time; in fact, four of the twelve songs are covers 
(of The Misfits, Willie Dixon, John Coltrane, and Sun Ra).  There are 
more prominent contributions from other band members, including a song 
with lead vocals by guitarist Shawn Starski and another sung by drummer 
Ed Michaels.  Bass player Todd "Buckweed" Edmunds also gets songwriting 
credit for the first time.  Add on the instrumentals, and you have Jason 
singing on only seven songs.  His harmonica solos also tend to be 
shorter than they were on previous recordings.  Spreading out the love 
over the whole band makes the album feel more diverse and more 
well-rounded, although it may disappoint fans who just want to hear 
Jason blow endless sixty-fourth notes.  (I am sometimes in that camp.) 
Of course, his harp playing is exceptional as always, but it's much less 
the star on this album.  Can you be a sideman in your own band?  It 
sometimes feels that way on Done with the Devil.  The apparent reduction 
of harmonica's role may also be due to the array of more obscure harps 
that Jason plays on the album, including chromatic, chord, and 
polyphonic variants.  One final note about the band – many songs have 
organ parts played by the album's producer, Phillip Wolfe, and it works 
so well that I wish there was room on the tour van for a full-time keys 
player!

I won't attempt to review individual songs, especially as I'd not heard 
some of these until getting the album, but here are some footnotes at 
least, along with my critical thoughts where they have formed:

1.	"Done with the Devil" – Catchy blues/rock, a typical Ricci/Starski 
composition with dueling guitar/harp sections, but Shawn's guitar has 
more delta influence here than I've heard before.  I also really love 
the rhythm parts on this song, especially the four-on-the-floor drums. 
Jason's singing is reminiscent of "The Rocker" from his last album.

2.	"Sweet Loving" – This is a disarming love song, in some ways similar 
to "I'm a New Man" from R#9, but with an unmistakable country swing to 
it.  Jason plays acoustic harp, and his solo reminds me of that on 
"Sonja", although this song has a much different and more upbeat feel 
than that introspective instrumental.

3.	"Holler for Craig Lawler" – This is a touching but not at all sappy 
tribute to Jason's friend in Colorado, who succumbed to cancer last 
September.  I met Craig a couple times and think he would dig this funky 
jam.  It's one of the longest tracks on the album, and the last half is 
instrumental.  That portion probably captures the band's live sound more 
than any other studio recording I've heard.  Jason plays with an 
envelope filter (auto-wah) that I think he learned to use from Chris 
Michalek.  (Is that right, Buddha?)

4.	"Broken Toy" – Starts with a wicked chromatic intro by Jason, but 
this song is heavier on lyrics than harmonica.  I don't know what to 
make of the cryptic verses, but the music is a sort of sad, slow blues 
mixed with European (jazz?) styles.  Buckweed plays tuba on this one, 
and Jason eventually returns on diatonic to close out the track.

5.	"Ptryptophan Pterodactyl" – This is an instrumental jazz number 
written by Buckweed.  It's a lot smoother than New Blood's usual 
adventures in jazz, but that's no problem when you have an awesome bass 
groove, perfectly synched harp/guitar lines, a lot of effects switching 
by Jason, and a truly excellent Wurlitzer solo by Phillip Wolfe.  I love 
the title, too!  Definitely one of my favorites on this album.

6.	"I Turned into a Martian" – This blistering punk cover shares some 
musical foundation with JRNB's version of "Mellow Down Easy", but the 
vocals are pure punk and very addicting.  It caught my ear immediately 
and left me wondering when we can look forward to an all-punk album from 
these guys!  Jason's voice is absolutely perfect for this kind of music, 
and knowing he is a big fan of punk music, it's pretty cool to hear him 
finally record something like this.

7.	"Long As I Have You" – This is an old blues song and sounds the part. 
 Easily the most traditional blues track on the album, it's not my cup 
of tea but will probably be a hit with a lot of harp players.

8.	"How It Come to Be" – Shawn's vocals sound fantastic on this track, 
and it's a treat to hear him play slide guitar.  The music is steeped in 
delta blues tradition and would fit right in at a North Mississippi 
Allstars show.  Jason is literally playing as sideman here, and he's 
quite good at it – reminds me of some of his really early material with 
Heidi & The El Cats or Keith B. Brown.

9.	"Life of Denial" – The lyrics and music match up perfectly here to 
create an oppressive mood that is punctuated by energetic releases of 
the tension.  The guitar occasionally moves into heavy metal territory, 
but only briefly.  I'm still trying to process this track and don't 
quite know what to think of it yet.

10.	 "Afro Blue" – I've heard this song played a couple times live, and 
I'm now thrilled that the boys decided to include it on the album.  It 
is a complex and driving jazz song with Latin influences.  I've been 
listening to a lot of John Coltrane recently, and it has helped me to 
appreciate the sax master's significant influence over Jason's harmonica 
style.  This song is a perfect illustration of how to play harp over a 
song usually heard with saxophone.  The organ contribution is especially 
tight on this track, and the whole band is pretty much kicking ass.  The 
tease of "My Favorite Things" near the end just makes the package even 
sweeter.

11.	 "Keep the Wolf from My Door" – This one was written and sung by Ed 
Michaels.  He has a more traditional blues voice than either Jason or 
Shawn, which fits well with the song.  The lyrics mention "boss man", if 
that tells you anything.  A few tricks, like replacing the bass with 
tuba, make this song more interesting than I had expected.

12.	 "Enlightenment" – Here's another weird Sun Ra song from Jason's 
ongoing obsession with the jazz pioneer from Birmingham and/or space. 
It reminds me of "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" from Sgt. Pepper. 
 JR is playing some crazy weird harmonicas on this one, and Buckweed 
has moved over to bass harmonica as well.  Shawn also pulls out some 
very sweet slide guitar!  And the haunting outro vocals are provided by 
Jason's boyfriend, Brady Mills, a wonderful musician in his own right. 
This track is still eluding me to some degree (in a good way), but it's 
shorter and more palatable as a closer than was "Rocket Number 9". 
Definitely one of the most intriguing songs on an album full of weird 
mash-ups and unpredictable turns.

Okay, that was probably more than I intended to write, but the album has 
left a strong impression on me so far.  Hopefully this is just the first 
of many reviews and comments to come for this great album.  If anyone 
has a question about the album or individual songs, I'll try to answer 
or will track down Jason for more info.

--
Jonathan Metts
Prairie Dog PR
Ph: 205.435.0991
pr@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx / prairiedogpr@xxxxxxxxx