Blues

Jonny Lang – Signs (2017)

2017-09-30T13:25:50Z

Jonny Lang – Signs (2017)


01. Make It Move
02. Snakes
03. Last Man Standing
04. Signs
05. What You’re Made Of
06. Bitter End
07. Stronger Together
08. Into The Light
09. Bring Me Back Home
10. Wisdom
11. Singing Songs

Barry Alexander 	Drums
Jim Anton 	Bass
Court Clement 	Guitars
Nickie Conley 	Vocals (Background)
David Davidson 	String Arrangements, Viola, Violin
Walter Earl 	Drums, Drum Technician
Jason Eskridge 	Vocals (Background)
Dwan Hill 	Composer, Keyboards, Piano (Electric)
Josh Kelley 	Composer, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals (Background)
Jonny Lang 	Bass, Clapping, Drums, Drums (Snare), Guitars, Primary Artist, Producer, Stomping
Dan Needham 	Drum Engineering, Drums
Carole Rabinowitz 	Cello
Drew Ramsey 	Bass, Clapping, Composer, Guitars, Mixing, Producer, Stomping, Vocals (Background) 
Shannon Sanders 	Composer, Keyboards, Producer, Vocals (Background)
Debi Selby 	Vocals (Background)

In his 20 years as a recording artist – and by the way he is only 36, what is it about these Blues guys? – Jonny Lang has packed plenty in.

But if his journey – early success, demons battled with, conversion to religion – has been perhaps grimly typical of many of his contemporaries, his music has not. Recent records have charted on the Christian circuit and have been more akin to the soul of Stevie Wonder than the blues of Howlin’ Wolf.

For those that discovered him through the latter, it will no doubt come as a welcome surprise that on “Signs” Lang is right back to his roots. Indeed, it is arguable that he has never sounded quite as primal as he does on the opening couple of cuts here.

“Make It Move” is – literally – a stomp of a thing: “the greatest lie I told myself,” goes a line just before it’s chorus, “was that it could not be done.” And right there, he has summed up the gritted teeth stoicism that infuses every song here.

It is no mistake that this is followed by the outright urgency of “Snakes”. The tale of a young man who succumbs to temptation – it is probably autobiographical. It is brilliantly done either way, and when Lang breaks out the lead guitar, you can almost hear him saying: “I’m back, baby.”

That is not to say that this is some blues rehash with nothing else to bring. Jonny Lang has never been that and he’s not here. “Last Man Standing” is a heads down rocker that Glenn Hughes might be proud to call his own.

But for the most part, there is just something gleeful about “Signs”. It’s title track might be about the world going to hell in a handbasket, but the slide guitar work tells you that things can’t be that bad, and “What You’re Made Of” is the first of a couple that show that he hasn’t forgotten the soul totally. The falsetto vocals come from nowhere and channel some spirit of Prince.

As the record enters its second half it does so with no dip in quality. “The Bitter End” broods in a quite unsettling manner and when it bursts out into its chorus it does so in way that suggests it won’t be denied by anyone.

“Stronger Together” is a simple love song, but one that is shot through with a sunshine and there’s a dark, fuzzy bassline to drive “Into The Light”. “Bring Me Back Home” is the counterbalance to this and is built around keyboards and casts him as a jazz singer at the corner of some bar somewhere at 2am in the morning.

It is interesting though, that as the record comes to an end it does so by coming full circle, and “Wisdom” is. like the very first song, blues of the most early proto variety as if to emphasise that this is a very different Jonny Lang.

The last song is as different again. “Singing Songs” is a gorgeous strum of a man without a car in the world, you can almost feel the warmth, and the vocals recall Jeff Buckley. “We’ll go on singing songs” it says on the chorus. That’s no problem if they are all as good as this. --- maximumvolumemusic.com

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Jonny Lang – Fight For My Soul (2013)

2013-11-02T19:45:52Z

Jonny Lang – Fight For My Soul (2013)


01 – Blew Up (The House)
02 – Breakin’ In
03 – We Are The Same
04 – What You’re Looking For
05 – Not Right
06 – The Truth
07 – River
08 – Fight For My Soul
09 – All Of A Sudden
10 – Seasons
11 – I’ll Always Be
12 – Breakin’ Me (Acoustic)
13 – Never Should Have Lied (Acoustic)

Jonny Lang - Composer, Guitars, Producer, Vocals
Barry Alexander - Drums
David Angell - Violin
James Anton - Bass
Chris Bruce - Guitar (Rhythm)
John Catchings - Cello
David Davidson - Violin
Conni Ellisor - Violin
Marc Harris - Hammond B3
Dwan Hill - Keyboards, Piano
James Grosjean - Viola
James Philip Lassiter - String Conductor
Drew Ramsey - Composer, Guitars, Vocals (Background)
Sari Reist - Cello
Jason Roller - Banjo, Mandolin
Shannon Sanders - Composer, Piano, Synthesizer, Vocals (Background)
Tommy Sims - Bass, Composer, Guitars, Piano, Producer, Vocals (Background)
Pam Sixfin - Violin
Javier Solís - Percussion
Akil Thompson - Guitar (Rhythm)
James Waddell 	Beats, Engineer, Keyboards, Mixing
Kristin Wilkinson - Viola
Nikki Leonti - Vocals (Background)
Tiffany Bastiany - Vocals (Background)
Bekka Bramlett - Vocals (Background)
Luke Edgemon - Vocals (Background)
Jason Eskridge - Vocals (Background)
Melissa Hale - Vocals (Background)
Gene Miller - Vocals (Background)
Michael Hicks - Vocals (Background)
Jackie Wilson 	Vocals (Background)

Marketed as a blues-rock prodigy early in his career, Jonny Lang had considerable success at a young age -- in 2004, A Tribute to Jonny Lang was released, arriving nearly a decade into the guitarist's career when he was just about to turn 22 -- so perhaps it isn't a great surprise that the first decade of the new millennium found him a little lost. He found religion, then tried to fuse his beliefs with hard rock on a series of transitional releases, before righting himself with 2013's Fight for My Soul. If the title suggests Lang may still be sorting out spiritual issues in his songs, the album itself bears no conflicted musical personality. Ditching the lingering hard rock along with any outright blues jams, Lang dives headfirst into classic soul and R&B, its elastic, funky grooves allowing the guitarist plenty of space to solo, but this isn't a record where the intent is to showcase instrumental virtuosity. Working closely with co-producer and co-songwriter Tommy Sims, Lang puts the focus on song and, with it, allows himself plenty of little stylistic detours. "All of a Sudden" opens the album on a gentle acoustic note in the vein of Babyface's '90s productions, then the record gets exuberant with "Blew Up (The House)," which brings to mind a harder-edged, streamlined Sly & the Family Stone; later Lang does a full-on Motown pastiche on "The River." At times, his emphasis on stuttering funk and thick sheets of guitar recalls Lenny Kravitz -- "Breakin' In" and "We Are the Same" are in that mold, while "I'll Always Be" suggests the candied psychedelic ballads that are Kravitz's stock in trade -- but that is by no means a bad thing, as Lang and Sims have given Fight for My Soul a similarly appealing gloss so the album is enjoyable as sheer ear candy, but underneath the surface this is Lang's strongest set of songs yet. It took a little while for Jonny Lang to find his groove, but Fight for My Soul proves that he needed the journey so he could arrive at this destination. --- Seth Bernard and May Erlewine, allmusic.com

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Jonny Lang - Wander This World (1998)

2013-05-25T16:16:45Z

Jonny Lang - Wander This World (1998)


1.    "Still Rainin'" (Bruce McCabe) – 4:49
2.    "Second Guessing" (David Z./McCabe) – 5:10
3.    "I Am" (Prince/Z/Levi Seacer, Jr.) – 5:04
4.    "Breakin' Me" (Lang/Kevin Bowe) – 4:32
5.    "Wander This World" (Paul Diethelm/McCabe) – 4:49
6.    "Walking Away" (Lang/Jerry Lynn Williams) – 4:14
7.    "The Levee" (Bowe/Lang) – 3:41
8.    "Angel of Mercy" (McCabe/Michael Henderson) – 4:30
9.    "Right Back" (Williams/Danny Kortchmar) – 3:59
10.    "Leaving to Stay" (Bowe) – 4:35
11.    "Before You Hit the Ground" (Bowe/Lang) – 3:55
12.    "Cherry Red Wine" (Luther Allison) – 3:31
13.    "If This is Love" (Joe Louis Walker) – 3:01

Jonny Lang (vocals, guitar); 
Tommy Burroughs (acoustic guitar, background vocals); 
Jack Holder (guitar, keyboards); 
Steve Cropper, Kevin Bowe (guitar); 
Paul Diethelm (dobro); 
Eric Leeds (saxophone); 
Bruce McCabe, Ricky Peterson (keyboards); 
David Smith (bass); 
Richie Hayward (drums); 
Bekka Bramlett, Jimmy Davis, William Brown, Jessica Boucher, J.D. Steele, 
Jevetta Steele, Fred Steele, Billy Steele (background vocals).

When reviewers heard teen-aged Jonny Lang's debut album of 1997, Lie to Me, many of them commented on how mature the blues singer/guitarist sounded for his age. Similarly, Lang's second album, Wander This World, often sounds like it could have been the work of a man of 30. With David Z. (known for his work with Prince) producing, the Midwesterner delivers an exciting sophomore effort that has as much to do with soul, funk, and rock as it does with actual blues. Far from a purist, Lang takes an approach that is best described as Albert Collins, B.B. King, and Luther Allison by way of Otis Redding, Stax Records, and Eric Clapton. While "Angel of Mercy" and the moody "Cherry Red Wine" demonstrate his mastery of the 12-bar format, most of the other selections aren't actual 12-bar blues, but rather Southern-style soul, funk, or rock with a wealth of blues feeling. Lovers of 1960s Memphis soul should appreciate "Walking Away" and "Second Guessing," while "The Levee" and "Still Rainin'" have more of a rock orientation. The haunting title song finds Lang singing a little too convincingly about loneliness -- even though Lang himself didn't actually write the lyrics -- hearing an adolescent sounding so world-weary and isolated is rather disconcerting. There's nothing even remotely bubblegum about this excellent CD, which proves that Lang's supporters had every right to be enthusiastic. ---Alex Henderson, allmusic.com

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Jonny Lang - Smokin' (1995)

2013-05-21T16:23:36Z

Jonny Lang - Smokin' (1995)


1.    "Louise" (Lang, Langseth) – 4:23
2.    "Changes" (Larsen) – 3:17
3.    "Lovin' My Baby" (Lang) – 3:10
4.    "I Love You the Best" (Lang) – 4:03
5.    "Nice & Warm" (Benoit) – 7:43
6.    "It's Obdacious" (Johnson) – 3:18
7.    "Sugarman " (Hayes) – 4:12
8.    ""E" Train" (Larsen, Larsen, Larsen) – 4:11
9.    "Too Tired" (Collins) – 3:15
10.    "Smokin'" (Lang, Larsen, Larsen) – 3:45
11.    "Malted Milk" (Johnson) – 3:17

    "Kid" Jonny Lang - vocals, guitar
    Ted "Lightnin' Boy" Larsen - guitars, backing vocals
    Michael Rey Larsen - drums, backing vocals
    Jeff Hayes - bass guitar, backing vocals
+
    Steve Cropper – guitars

Smokin' is a good electric blues album, but it's hard to divorce an assessment of it from the knowledge that singer/guitarist Jonny Lang was a mere 14 years old when he recorded it. Would one consider it such an achievement if the bandleader were twice that age? Probably not. Without Lang's precocity as a draw, the album is a competent work in a hidebound form. The guitar playing is fluid and professional in a style reminiscent of many other players, notably B.B. King. The singing is fine, but unremarkable. The backup band maintains a groove and gives Lang something to play off of. If you saw a band playing like this in a local club, you'd have a good time. And if you could tell that the guitar player was underage, you'd be far more impressed. But then, that's the point, isn't it? ---William Ruhlmann, allmusic.com

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Jonny Lang – Lie To Me (1997)

2010-04-02T22:12:52Z

Jonny Lang – Lie To Me (1997)


1: Lie to Me (4:14)
2: Darker Side (5:10)
3: Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (4:15)
4: Still Wonder (3:45)
5: Matchbox (3:30)
6: Back for a Taste of Your Love (3:54)
7: A Quitter Never Wins (5:57)
8: Hit the Ground Running (3:31)
9: Rack 'Em Up (4:08)
10: When I Come to You (4:59)
11: There's Gotta Be a Change (4:11)
12: Missing Your Love (3:54)

    Jonny Lang - vocals, lead guitar
    Bruce McCabe - piano, clavinet, backing vocals
    Bekka Bramlett - backing vocals
    Billy Franze - rhythm guitar
    Dennis Morgan - acoustic guitar
    Doug Bartenfeld - rhythm guitar
    Rob Stupka - drums
    David Smith - bass guitar

Like his peers Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Chris Duarte, Jonny Lang is a technically gifted blues guitarist, capable of spitting out accomplished licks and riffs at an astonishingly rapid rate. That doesn't necessarily mean the album has much emotional weight -- Lang can deliver the style, but not the substance, simply because he still needs to grow as a musician. Lang does boast an impressive array of licks and instrumental technique, but he needs something more to make Lie to Me a substantive record. --- Stephen Thomas Erlewine, allmusic.com

Jonny Lang cut his debut album in Memphis when he was just 15, and, upon its release in 1996, the guitar prodigy from Minneapolis instantly became one of the leading lights of modern blues. He's a fast and flashy player whose approach rests equally on technical assurance and musical intelligence. Sizing up a dozen songs, he gets a pleasing, razor-sharp sound out of his ax while building excitement in his lead lines--thankfully, he steers clear of cliché and bombast. As a fledging singer, he acts out the lyrics of Ike Turner's age-old shuffle "Matchbox" and his own romantic ballad "Missing Your Love" with surprising poise and believability. Kudos to producer David Z for surrounding Lang with alert, first-rate sidemen and for helping select good material from Turner, Sonny Boy Williamson, Tinsley Ellis, and others. ---Frank-John Hadley, amazon.com

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