Talkin' the Blues with Microwave Dave
Aug 20, 2024
Johnny Ray Jones – Mystic Chiefs
MoonDogg Records
While I'd walk across a twelve lane interstate at rush hour just to watch Junior Watson unpack his guitar, the assembly of players around Johnny Ray Jones in the Mystic Chiefs keep apace with him without breaking a sweat (except when everyone does). Carl Sonny Leyland's piano is distinct from the guys who stay close to Sunnyland Slim, Otis Spann and Pinetop Perkins: he reminds us of the R&B pianists who accompanied 1950s R&B / rock 'n roll artists like Bo Diddley and the Coasters, keeping a flow of upper register triads and runs sprinkling the rhythm section more than dominating it with his left hand.
After reviewing all the previous tracks, I arrived at the final one, I'll Be Around, and had a double-take on how utterly fine that slow cut-shuffle was in the hands of these master players -- like a limousine with one flat tire homing with the parking brake on. Impeccable work by all hands, indeed.
Johnny Ray's voice needs but three words before the first-time listener will recognize it ever after. While not imitating any of his influences, he has cornered a singular delivery that carries the resolution of the early singers who actually suffered before and during their work. He doesn't flaunt this character, but every line sounds like he's singing it after being pardoned on the pillar with the firing squad at ready. Tex Nakamura (whom I met when War played here twenty years back) is laying it out, but stays intact in his slot in the ensemble for the most part, reaching out with brilliance and bite on solos.
One thing Mystic Chiefs is not: over-rehearsed. Flex in the pocket here and there, and tempo dynamics are a welcome joy for those of us exposed to the click-track ball & chain present in a majority of current blues releases.
Jazz’n’More
Blues and soul shouter Johnny Ray Jones from LA names his third album after the top-class band he recently put together. This group, from the circles of the Mighty Flyers, the Phantom Blues Band, Los Lobos, War and the Blasters, pushes their frontman, who has left his mark on the Southern Californian scene since the 1980s, in a formidable way. Jones concentrates on the eleven numbers on songs that have defined his live program over the years. In addition to standards by the usual suspects Willie Dixon, Howlin' Wolf, Slim Harpo, Billy Boy Arnold and Sonny Boy Williamson, there are also three compositions by the 1990s cult R'n'B band The Red Devils around Lester Butler. It speaks for the class of the Mystic Chiefs and their leader that there is never a dull moment. Johnny Ray Jones and his men know how to breathe new life into venerable warhorses in a relaxed and skillful manner.
— Marco Piazzalonga
www.bluesmagazine.nl
The third album by sixty-year-old Johnny Ray Jones is much more of a blues record than its 2021 predecessor ‘Way Down South’, which had a more soul/R&B tinge. Johnny Ray Jones comes from the Los Angeles blues scene. He was there early. In the early eighties, as a 19-year-old boy, he began his journey of discovery in bluesland. He has shared the stage with Canned Heat, Big Joe Turner, James Harman and The Red Devils, among others. All those names say a lot about the great importance of Southern California with Los Angeles as a centre for blues music. Jones also played on Monday nights at the King King club in L.A. where the Red Devils recorded the album of the same name and for which they became famous. “I was at the King King on Mondays,” Jones recalls. “That was what you did. You knew where the party was. It was fun; you never knew who was going to play. Lester would sometimes take a break and let me sing a tune. If I was lucky, I got to do two.”
That is also his inspiration for Mystic Chiefs. There are three songs by the Devils on it. The opener ‘Automatic’ plus ‘Devil Woman’ and N’o Fightin’, while he also does songs that were on the repertoire of Lester Butler and his mates (‘I’m Ready’ by Willy Dixon, ‘Shake Your Hips’ by Slim Harpo, ‘I Wish You Would’ by Billy Boy Arnold). Willy Dixon also has ‘Don’t Go No Further’ on the record. Furthermore, Sonny Boy Williamson ‘II ’s Trying To Get On My Feet Again’ and ‘My Younger Days’ are included, ‘Sugar Sweet’ by Melvin R. London and the album ends with ‘I’ll Be Around’ by Howlin’ Wolf.
This certainly makes Mystic Chiefs not an ‘easy’ cover album, but a tribute to where Johnny Ray Jones’ roots lie. Jones has a beautiful, soulful voice. For this album, he has gathered a band of musicians around him who all know the ropes. Guitarist Junior Watson played with Canned Heat for ten years and worked on hundreds of recordings. He also shows his class on this album. Englishman Carl Sonny Leyland flew across the pond and became known as a boogie woogie/blues pianist and has worked with all kinds of greats. Harmonica is played by Japanese Tex Nakamura, who can also be found on various albums. Bassist John Bazz played with The Blasters for years and drummer J.R. Lozano with Kid Ramos, among others. Finally, percussionist Stephen Hodges, who played on Lester Butler's 13, among others. They play on this album as if they have been doing it together for years, an album that is certainly recommended for all fans of The Red Devils. With the opener Automatic, the band immediately grabs you by the throat, Leyland in particular makes himself prominently heard on the piano. And until I'll Be Around at the end, the album has no weak moments. Would be a nice band for the well-known blues festivals in the Netherlands.
Mladen Loncar
Only 12 days after the official release of the album "Mystic Chiefs", which was released on August 2nd by Moondog Records with global radio promotion by MACRadio Promo, which is run by Michelle Castiglia and to whom I thank for the opportunity to be one of the first, who convey information about this album, better to write an album made by the great Southern California blues shouter Johnny Ray Jones.
''Mystic Chiefs'' is the third album by Johnny Ray Jones and it is in fact an undeniably fierce collection of 11 songs that pays tribute to generations of the best blues and roots bands that we know very well such as Canned Heat, James Harman Band, Blasters, Red Devils and Blue Shadows. Johnny Ray Jones brings us an extremely big and powerful blues atmosphere and how could he not, when he grew up he was in the LA blues music scene. Sam "Bluzman" Taylor, Johnny's voice coach and mentor, started the whole story and Percy Mayfield's widow, Tina Mayfield, Johnny's godmother, booked Johnny Ray his first gigs at her club, Blues Unlimited. Jones has been on his blues journey ever since. He has released two albums so far, "Feet Back in the Door" (2017) and "Way Down South" (2021); and sang and performed with legends such as Big Joe Turner, Phillip Walker and Lee Allen; he played with the late John Mayall, Leon Russell, Jeff Healy, and Janiv Magness, Walter Trout, the Knitters and the Blasters.
For ''Mystic Chiefs'', Jones decided to emphasize precisely that always attractive classic blues material, which was again an integral part and foundation of his presentation form. Therefore, it is not surprising that Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, Slim Harpo and Joe Hill Louis also had their fingers there and left that mark and touch, which simply received all those incredible dashes and musical influences.
"Mystic Chiefs" thus represents a new stop on the long journey of Johnny Ray Jones and his blues continuum, from the work of musicians from Chicago in the 60s such as Paul Butterfield, Mike Bloomfield, Elvin Bishop, Charlie Musselwhite and Barry Goldberg, who have learned under the feet of Windy City masters, through dedicated players from Southern California like James Harman, Blasters, Red Devils and Johnny Ray Jones himself, who again learned their "craft" from the elders and all that music and "feeling" they simply carried over into the 21st century. Beautiful, where we will be more beautiful and purposeful. Blues is still here ... with us!
It is obvious that the whole album is dominated and somehow above all by Johnny Ray's refined vocals, which combine strength, robustness and exceptional astringency, as well as evident refined subtlety. When such great musicians join everything, it's hard for anything to be or sound bad, there's just no way!
Zicazine
With four decades of experience in Southern California clubs where he sang with big names like Big Joe Turner, Lee Allen, John Fogerty and Coco Montoya and shared the stage with John Mayall, Leon Russell, Janiva Magness and Walter Trout, Johnny Ray Jones has become one of the sure values of SoCal blues, a status he confirms this year with a third personal album on which he has chosen to offer an anthology of eleven covers, five of which are from the repertoire of the Red Devils, a famous Los Angeles group for which he held the microphone for a few years. The rest of the opus is drawn from the same barrel of blues and pays homage to the great groups of the region like Canned Heat, James Harman Band and The Blasters and it is by relying on a solid base of titles brought back from Rice Miller, Willie Dixon, Slim Harpo, Billy Boy Arnold and Howlin' Wolf that Johnny Ray Jones sends us a batch of well thought out and well performed classics. It must be acknowledged that alongside him, the Mystic Chiefs who gave their name to the album bring together some big names like Junior Watson and Johnny Lee Schell on guitars, Carl Sonny Leyland on piano, Tex Nakamura on harmonicas, John Bazz on bass, Stephen Hodges on percussion and J.R. Lozano on drums and that the production, once again provided by Johnny Lee Schell at Ultratone Studios, is well worth its weight in gold. It is therefore difficult not to be caught up in the flight by very rootsy and gritty cracks like "Trying To Get Back On My Feet", "Shake Your Hips", "No Fighting" or "My Younger Days", pieces that will certainly not bring much more to the blues edifice but which will at least have the merit of giving it a good fresh and clean blow to help it stay in top shape. A bedside album available since August 2nd, to listen to absolutely!
Sounds of South
The Mystic Chiefs are the musicians of Johnny Ray Jones' Allstar Band and also the namesakes for the group's first studio album. And the list of band members reads like a "Who's Who" of blues and roots musicians: guitarist Junior Watson (including Canned Heat and William Clarke), harp player Tex Nakamura (War) and percussionist Stephen Hodges (Tom Waits), to name just three.
On “Mystic Chiefs”, which is also the third album by the Southern Californian bluesman J. R. Jones, he presents eleven rousing blues and roots songs. Some of them are skilful reinterpretations of classics by blues legends Sonny Boy Williamson (“Trying To Get Back On My Feet”, “My Younger Days”), Willie Dixon (“Don’t Go No Further”, presented here in a wonderfully relaxed and laid-back style, as well as “I’m Ready”), James Moore (“Shake Your Hips”) and others. Other songs come from the repertoire of the L.A. bluesmen The Red Devils, who Jones accompanied for a time (including “Automatic”, “Devil Woman”, “No Fighting”).
The album leads from the traditional Chicago blues of the 60s à la Paul Butterfield, Mike Bloomfield or Charlie Musselwhite to the L.A. roots rock of the 80s and 90s, as played by, for example, John Lennon, Johnny Cash, and Bradley Cooper. B. the "Blasters" and "The Red Devils" played. All the songs sound very authentic, not least because of Jones' voice, which always seems to come slightly from offstage and somehow manages to conjure up an analogue feeling. The album will inevitably bring back memories of the "good old days" for the older members of our readership. And "I Wish You Would" is even permeated by "Break On Through" by the Doors.
Carl Sonny Leyland does an incredibly good job on the piano, be it on "Automatic", a lively boogie-woogie, or on "Shake Your Hips", a boogie in the style of Canned Heat, but he also knows how to breathe life into the slow blues "My Younger Days". Tex Nakamura's performance on the harmonica should not go unmentioned either; many of the songs are carried to a large extent by his rousing playing skills.
With "Mystic Chiefs", Jones, who has played with, among others, the "Blasters" and "The Red Devils", delivers a brilliant performance. has already performed on stage with John Mayall, Walter Trout and Big Joe Turner, a straight and explosive blues album with a club feel. The fact that these are not live recordings does not diminish this feeling at all. I can say with a clear conscience that this 5-star record will already be one of my all-time favorites.
Concertmonkey
In the late 70s Johnny Ray Jones was looking for the blues. Johnny Ray was 19 or 20 years old and a guy named Butch Mudbone took him to a Sam Taylor concert at the Taurus Tavern in Venice. They had a blues jam every Sunday. I guess Sam wasn't feeling well that day and took the day off, but his guitarist Coco Montoya took over that night, and guitarist James Armstrong was there too. So the first song Johnny Ray ever sang on stage in a bar was with those great guys. He started going to that club every Sunday and Sam Taylor started giving him vocal lessons in exchange for driving him to recording sessions and gigs. Johnny Ray Jones has previously released two albums, 'Feet Back In The Door' in 2017 and 'Way Down South' in 2021. He has sung alongside legends such as Big Joe Turner, Phillip Walker and Lee Allen. He has appeared on bills with John Mayall, Leon Russell, Jeff Healy, Janiva Magness, Walter Trout, The Knitters and The Blasters. For his new album 'Mystic Chiefs' Johnny Ray Jones chose to emphasize the classic blues material that has long been the basis of his show, performing songs originally recorded by or associated with Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, Slim Harpo and Joe Hill Louis, with top-notch local players. The album is named after Johnny Ray's new backing band. 'Mystic Chiefs' contains eleven songs. Five of the eleven songs on the album are from the club repertoire of the Red Devils, the rocking band from the nineties led by singer and harmonica player Lester Butler.
It is with one of these Lester Butler songs that Johnny Ray Jones opens his new album. 'Automatic' is certainly one of the best-known songs from Lester Butler And The Red Devils. It is a wonderfully swinging blues rock shuffle, with a magnificent Carl Sonny Leyland and Tex Nakamura on piano and harmonica. Drummer J.R. Lozano and bassist John Bazz provide the cleverly driving groove and Johnny Ray sings the song with great passion and conviction. 'Trying To Get Back On My Feet' is one of the two Sonny Boy Williamson II covers on this album. With tight percussion, drummer Lozana provides a great drum beat. With a sublime string solo, guitarist Junior Watson puts his stamp on the song and towards the end, harmonica player Tax Nakamura also comes out with a great solo. Johnny Ray hears his mother cry in the exciting 'Devil Woman'. It is the second cover of The Red Devils. Johnny Ray has a good and raw voice and sings the song with all his heart and soul. The howling Wolf, known from John Lee Hooker, also appears here. 'Devil Woman' is built around a strong, recurring guitar riff by Junior Watson. A Red Devils cover cannot be without the harmonica, so Tex Nakamura is once again present with gritty and pumping harmonica work.
In the Willie Dixon-penned 'Don't Go Further' the message is clear. Johnny Ray makes no bones about the fact that he needs someone to love and that someone loves him back. It's a Chicago blues shuffle. Leyland's clear and pulsating piano playing gives 'Don't Go Further' an extra touch. It's impossible to get stuck on the exciting boogie rocker 'Shake Your Hips', a Slim Harpo cover. Here too we hear phenomenal and rousing work from Leyland on piano and Nakamura on harmonica. The Muddy Waters cover 'I'm Ready For You' from 1954 was written by Willie Dixon and James Moore. Johnny Ray Jones & Mystic Chiefs make it an rousing blues rocker. Drummer J.R. Lozano shines with his jungle drumbeat and the harmonica and piano solos of Tex Nakamura and Carl Sonny Leyland are again to lick your fingers and thumbs. Johnny Ray sings with great passion and conviction: I'm ready for you, I hope that you're ready for me. Lester Butler wrote the lazy blues shuffle 'No Fightin'', a song that is tailor-made for the raw, experienced voice of Johnny Ray. Junior Watson colours 'No Fightin'' with fine and sensitive guitar work and Nakamura impresses again with excellent, gritty work on the harmonica. The tempo increases considerably for the swinging 'Sugar Sweet', with a magnificent Leyland who will charm many music lovers with his fluent piano playing and ditto solo.
The second Sonny Boy Williamson II cover is the captivating slow blues 'My Younger Days'. A great Junior Watson conjures up an excellent, fine and soulful string solo from his six-string and pianist Leyland is also at his best with delicate keyboard work on the piano. Johnny Ray Jones stays in the same mood in the closing 'I'll Be Around' a piano-driven slow blues that was written by Chester Burnett, better known as Howlin' Wolf. He recorded the song seventy years ago and it has still lost none of its charm and appeal. Here too harmonica player Leyland and guitarist Junior Watson take care of the excellent solo work. Although 'Mystic Chiefs' only contains covers it is still a very interesting album and that is because Johnny Ray Jones and his musicians try to put their own stamp on most of the songs. The arrangements are rich and well-balanced, with a clear focus on emphasizing Jones' powerful vocals. The mix of traditional instrumentation with modern production elements gives the album a timeless quality. (8/10)