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| IN THE DOGHOUSE...AGAIN! - JOHNNY MAX BAND |
| When Johnny Max sings that he�s �in the doghouse�, backed by the furious guitar work of Kevin Higgins, you can be pretty sure he ain�t jiving you. You�d think a blues song like that would be arranged in a real slow and mournful manner, but Johnny is one of those curious blues musicians who prefers to masquerade sadness and misery with a false expression of happiness (so as not to upset the �massa�, or �missus� in this case). Even when covering C. Kenner and Dave Bartholomew�s �Sick & Tired (of fooling around with you)�, the upbeat rhumba rhythm expresses a joyfulness in declaring his liberation from the object of his annoyance. Kenny �Blues Boss� Wayne guests on piano on this one track. Lowell Fulson�s �Black Nights� gets into a true-blue mode, a la John Mayall, with some sizzling keyboards by Michael Fonfara, and Howlin� Wolf is given a more than decent tribute on �Rockin� Daddy�, care of renowned drummer Bob Vespaziani and lesser-known, but no less talented, bassist Bill Keeley. Kevin Higgins occasional trades in his electric guitar for acoustic and resophonic ones, especially on the traditional Appalachian arrangement of Mississippi John Hurt�s �C.C. Rider/My Creole Belle�, which perfectly suits Johnny�s thick-as-molasses vocals. Like most blues acts in Toronto, there are two sets of players in the Johnny Max Band � those who play the grueling live circuit and the session musicians who deliver the goods on the recordings. Kevin Higgins is a mainstay of either team, as his songwriting skills, in collaboration with J. McAneney, are also put to great use on this CD, notably on �City Boy� and �Poor� (both of which any Torontonian could relate to). The other touring band members in the Johnny Max Band are Duncan McBain (drummer), Uli Bohnet (bass) and Martin Aucoin (keys), all accomplished players in their own right. Speaking of great songwriters, Johnny also covers Merle Haggard�s �Working Man Blues�, Franklin & Franklin�s �Baby, Baby, Baby� (which was ultimately out of his vocal range) and an exciting slide guitar treatment of Danny Brooks� �Carolina Shine�, with Danny himself providing backing vocals. Joe Lee (Big Joe) Williams�s barrelhousin� crossroads shuffle, �Highway 49�, features a raucous, rip-roaring slide guitar, making for an excellent finale on this self-produced disc, mastered by Andy Krehm. Other than the individual (and necessarily small-print) dedications by each of the players, the CD sleeve (no name given) wishes God�s blessing �to those who have inspired, conspired, perspired, transpired and expired playing their music and in the process passed on their love�to the purveyors of the rhythm.� Sounds like something Arlo (or maybe even his daddy, Woody) Guthrie might have said. |
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