Subject: [Harp-L] Jason Ricci - New Album: "Done with the Devil"
That's a very interesting and fun review, Jonathan. I'll be among the
first on line for several copies of the CD. For those wanting to follow
along, I was able to hear full cuts of each of the tracks from the Delta Groove
site at Blues Wax:
Firstly, here's yet another chance to see the Pocket Full of Soul
Movie..with Jason and New Blood (among many other artists), this time in Memphis on
May 8,2009:
_http://www.deltagrooveproductions.com/music/tours/4thannualbluesrevue.html_
(http://www.deltagrooveproductions.com/music/tours/4thannualbluesrevue.html)
...and here's the link where one can click on 'audio clips' to hear all
the songs you've just discussed:
_http://www.deltagrooveproductions.com/music/releases/downwiththedevil/main.
html_
(http://www.deltagrooveproductions.com/music/releases/downwiththedevil/main.html)
and read Jason's version of what would normally be 'liner notes'. :)
(If you do have to sign up to read it, it's a simple choosing of a password
and the occasional email from BluesWax...one is not inundated with mail).
I haven't listened sufficient times to decide which of the various songs
are my favourites ...yet. But I do know I've been blown away by the
camaraderie/other band members singing on this album and especially by
Enlightenment....the chord and bass harmonica playing (Jason and Todd), and Brady's
voice taking the song out. It's just beautiful. I'd long hoped for Brady to
participate on a JR Album since he's a wonderful vocalist/pianist.
One of my fondest memories of a past Buckeye is stashing Brady's little
Pomeranian under my jacket to keep both of us warm in a freezing cold snowy
April while he sang and played a grand piano in an almost empty room in the
wee hours of the morning..... those are the moments one remembers from
conventions.
I do know a couple of my more 'religious' friends were a bit concerned
about what they thought of as 'devil' imagery on the album. The idea of the
album, of course...isn't devil 'worship'..but merely...that one might be
'done with the devil'...but ...is the devil done with you? ;)
By the way, didn't I see/hear 'I turned into a Martian'.. used as
background music for a YouTube video of skateboarding?
As far as Jason playing 'sideman'...one of my all-time favourite harp
playing by him was his beautiful accompaniment of Heidi and the ElCats on her
Led Zep vocals of 'Going to California'....it plays as the opening of my own
myspace page (one has to disable Blake's 'East 13' first, though).
_www.myspace/elizabethgs_ (http://www.myspace/elizabethgs)
Jason has been playing more chord harmonica at festivals in lobby
jams...one of my video recordings from last SPAH is of an especially fun jam with
him on chord.
I realize it's taken an inordinately long while to get my dvd's
duped...but I WILL get them out to the performers as soon as I'm able. I've had some
unavoidable delays.
Elizabeth
Message: 10
Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 01:22:30 -0600
From: Jonathan Metts <prairiedogpr@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] Jason Ricci - New Album: "Done with the Devil"
To: _harp-l@xxxxxxxxxxx (mailto:harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx)
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 â 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 â 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" â 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" â 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" â 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" â 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" â 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" â 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" â 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" â 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 â reminds me of some of his really early material with
Heidi & The El Cats or Keith B. Brown.
9. "Life of Denial" â 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" â 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" â 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" â 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@xxxxxxxx (mailto:prairiedogpr@xxxxxxx)
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