In 2011 American blues rocker Johnny
Hunkins released his debut Talladega Pile-Up on Grooveyard Records, fitting in
well with the labels armada of killer blues heavy rock guitarists. Now it’s
time for the follow-up and I must say I’m positively surprised. The debut was
great, but this album feels like it’s on a different level. Both the song writing
and production has elevated. Johnny is still a kick-ass guitarist, so nothing
different there. He’s also a great singer, but this time he has however invited
some prominent colleagues to share that bit. First up is Nugent/St. Paradise
singer Derek St. Holmes, whose voice I totally love. He does really well here
as well, even though I do miss some of his juvenile power. This part is however
definitely totally killed by Rufus Huff powerhouse Jarrod England, who lends
his raspy, bluesy awesome vocal cords to the song Gonna Have A Party. Man, this
guy really gives me goosebumps (no, I f***ing refuse to say “goosies”!). Jarrod
returns in the outstanding riff rocker River Is Risin’, where I swear his vocal
cords must be all curled up. This track also features former Blue Murder/The
Firm bassist Tony Franklin, who really complements Ryan Hoyle’s groovy drumming
and then, of course, Hunkins riffing and cool solo wailing all over the song.
This one almost has a Zeppelinish vibe to it with some cool tempo changes giving
it a nice broad spectrum. Hats off to you Mr Hunkins for a top-notch delivery.
Next time, eh? ;-).
Janne Stark
Year: 2014
Country: USA
Label: Grooveyard Records
Interesting Review will check out the album!
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