Rootstime - Groove CD Review
When the top producer, Blues Hall of Fame member and Grammy Award winner Bruce Bromberg flys to New York City to produce your 3rd CD, you're obviously doing something right. Something we can fully agree on after listening to "Groove", the latest work of this idiosyncratic blues guitarist from New York.
The strongest asset of this CD is his originality, and in just about every area. This is blues, but so different in approach than what normally drifts down to our office. When you look at the traditional-looking cover you would never expect it. Childs approach avoids the trap of simply recycling typical blues clichés. His guitar playing is unconventional and fascinating from the first to last minute, rough and surprising. Sometimes the guitar sounds really clean and precise, but then quite the opposite and almost chaotic at times on the strings. A few times he reminded me of Hound Dog Taylor, not by imitating him but by channeling a certain primal intensity on a boogie. Examples include songs like "Don't Quit The Man" and "Thumbs Boogie". The guitar work on Jeff Healey's "See The Light" is also amazing, when Johnny Childs goes completely out of the sphere on his wah-wah pedal.
The CD weaves through a variation in blues styles, including much of his own material his own and maintains his unique feel on guitar throughout. From Chicago Blues. Texas swing and equaly on a Klezmer [Jewish traditional rhythm] in the song "Junkman's Son." That song also appears in the previous project of Childs, an Award winning documentary with the same title [The Junkman's Son] that was awarded, and that DVD is also available now. The sound of the album is raw and unpolished in a good way, because music like this just to asks for this approach, Bromberg has of course perfected his profession.
"Groove" is a really strong album. If, like us, sometimes you like a serving of blues to really take you somewhere, this is another one that we can fully recommend to you. Get this Groove!
When the top producer, Blues Hall of Fame member and Grammy Award winner Bruce Bromberg flys to New York City to produce your 3rd CD, you're obviously doing something right. Something we can fully agree on after listening to "Groove", the latest work of this idiosyncratic blues guitarist from New York.
The strongest asset of this CD is his originality, and in just about every area. This is blues, but so different in approach than what normally drifts down to our office. When you look at the traditional-looking cover you would never expect it. Childs approach avoids the trap of simply recycling typical blues clichés. His guitar playing is unconventional and fascinating from the first to last minute, rough and surprising. Sometimes the guitar sounds really clean and precise, but then quite the opposite and almost chaotic at times on the strings. A few times he reminded me of Hound Dog Taylor, not by imitating him but by channeling a certain primal intensity on a boogie. Examples include songs like "Don't Quit The Man" and "Thumbs Boogie". The guitar work on Jeff Healey's "See The Light" is also amazing, when Johnny Childs goes completely out of the sphere on his wah-wah pedal.
The CD weaves through a variation in blues styles, including much of his own material his own and maintains his unique feel on guitar throughout. From Chicago Blues. Texas swing and equaly on a Klezmer [Jewish traditional rhythm] in the song "Junkman's Son." That song also appears in the previous project of Childs, an Award winning documentary with the same title [The Junkman's Son] that was awarded, and that DVD is also available now. The sound of the album is raw and unpolished in a good way, because music like this just to asks for this approach, Bromberg has of course perfected his profession.
"Groove" is a really strong album. If, like us, sometimes you like a serving of blues to really take you somewhere, this is another one that we can fully recommend to you. Get this Groove!