Several years ago, I was listening to the Beale Street Caravan podcast for the first time. The Caravan spotlights acts from the Memphis area, expanding to the adjacent states from time to time, capturing them in live performances. The first podcast I ever caught was the Love Light Orchestra, a group of Memphis-area musicians who played blues and R&B like the blues legends of the Bluff City played them in the 50's and 60's....Bobby "Blue" Bland, B.B. King, and Junior Parker, to name a few. Their live set just blew me away. The band was phenomenal....most have been playing this brand of blues for a long time, some even serving in Bland's band in the late 80's and 90's.....and their vocalist, John Nemeth, was incredible.
Most blues fans are probably familiar with John Nemeth. I'd heard him on a couple of his previous releases and I really enjoyed his vocals, but he sang these songs, mostly covers of the songs of the era, like he had waited all of his life to sing them. Nemeth got his start in Boise, Idaho with the band Fat John & the 3 Slims before joining up with Junior Watson's band in 2002 while still leading his own band, the Jacks. He later became as formidable a harmonica player as he is a vocalist, which led to him filling in for Sam Myers with Anson Funderburgh & the Rockets. He self-released a couple of albums before relocating from Boise to San Francisco, where he released a couple of albums on Blind Pig Records and ended up recording Memphis Grease in Memphis with the Bo-Keys, Feelin' Freaky, which was produced by Luther Dickinson, and 2020's Stronger Than Strong on Nola Blue Records.
In between his solo career, Nemeth teamed up with the Love Light Orchestra, who released an excellent self-titled live album recorded in Memphis on Blue Barrel Records in 2017. This year, they followed up with a studio album, Leave The Light On, on Nola Blue Records. This release features nine original tunes written by Nemeth, guitarist Joe Restivo, or trumpet player Marc Franklin, plus a splendid cover of Lowell Fulson's "Three O'Clock Blues." The originals work well in the era the band seeks to pay homage to....Restivo's opener "Time Is Fading Fast" sets the bar pretty high, while Nemeth's "Come On Moon" really puts his talents on full display. The Fulson cover has a Latin flair that works pretty well, and the title track is a sharp boogie shuffle, while "I Must Confess" should get feet moving and "After All" is an ideal Nemeth blues ballad. The band is firing on all cylinders and so is Nemeth. Leave The Light On is a perfect companion to the band's debut and if classic Memphis blues/R&B is one of your favorites, you just have to get your hands on this one!
In the spring of this year, Nemeth was diagnosed with ameloblastoma, a benign, aggressive tumor in his lower jaw which required immediate, specialized surgery, which included a bone graft to regenerate the bone in his jaw to be removed. Basically, Nemeth had his jaw amputated in late May with this procedure and, at this point, it's uncertain if he will be able to sing or play harmonica like he used to.
Prior to the surgery, Nemeth recorded May Be The Last Time (Nola Blue Records) with guitarist Kid Andersen hosting the session at his Greaseland studios in California. Andersen brought in legendary guitarist Elvin Bishop and his Big Fun Trio (guitarist/keyboardist Bob Welsh and drummer/percussionist Willy Jordan) and vocalist Alabama Mike to lend a hand and they recorded a set of old and new songs written by Nemeth. The title track, a gospel standard, kicks off the disc with some lyrical modifications from Nemeth. Bishop contributes three originals, including a new version of "Stealin' Watermelons," which he sings. Nemeth does an excellent job on the old J.B. Lenoir tune "Feeling Good," and duets with Jordan on the Wilson Pickett (via the Falcons) classic "I Found A Love." He blows some mean harp on the Junior Wells' blues "Come On In This House," and a raucous read of Slim Harpo's "Shake Your Hips," before closing with the optimistic "I'll Be Glad."
In order to completely get rid of the tumor, Nemeth had to have most of his teeth removed, but he had a successful stem cell transfer to regenerate his jawbone and will get replacement teeth implants in November. Hopefully, this won't be John Nemeth's last album, even though it's a great one, so keep him in your thoughts and prayers as he recovers from this ordeal.
During one of my recent trips to the Little Big Store in Raymond, MS, I stumbled onto a used copy of Hezekiah and the House Rockers' eponymous album, initially released on High Water and reissued in expanded form in 1998 by Hightone Records. This is probably one of the most interesting blues bands that you'll ever hear....Hezekiah Early plays drums and harmonica (taped to a mic stand), while guitarist James Baker played guitar (mostly like a bass). The trio is rounded out by Leon "Pee Wee" Whitaker, who sings and plays trombone. It's an interesting combination to say the least and there's a lot of great music here that sounds unlike anything else you might have heard. Early has a sparse catalog, a Fat Possum album with Elmo Williams and an album on Broke & Hungry with Robert Lee "Lil Poochie" Watson, but all of them are must-listening. He's featured basically solo on a couple of tracks and it's kind of amazing to hear harmonica and drums and know the same person is playing both instruments. They sort of branch out into an R&B/post-disco hybrid on a few tracks and those are really cool, but they really stand out on the traditional blues, too. It's a most interesting set that a lot of blues fans may have missed the first time (or second time) around, so if you can find a copy, check it out.
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