Rock, Metal

Johnny Rivers - Shadows On The Moon (2009)

2011-06-18T08:28:30Z

Johnny Rivers - Shadows On The Moon (2009)


1 Beat Of My Heart 3:32
2 Somebody To Love 5:33
3 Hard Heart 4:13
4 Pure Love 4:14
5 Shadows On The Moon 4:36
6 Half A Million Angels 4:32
7 Learning To Dance 3:10
8 Come Home America 4:03
9 Slips Away 4:05
10 Walk In The Rain 5:21
11 Beautiful World 4:11		play
12 Where Words End 4:31
13 The American Dream 4:15	play

Johnny Rivers was once described in a Rolling Stone review for Slim Slow Slider as "...having a voice like softly curling cigarette smoke.".Another way to think of him as an artist who never has a note out of place on any recording,the rockabilly cat of the Whiskey,transformed himself on Changes and Rewind then went full circle with the masterpiece of Realization. Lately Last Train To Memphis and Reinvention Highway proved Rivers was no "oldies act" living on the memories of his aging fan base.Shadows On The Moon is a totally new,fresh, vibrant sound.Don't expect to hear Chuck Berry covers here,instead a CD highlight is the 40 year too late collaboration with Jimmy Webb Where Words End a song that brings tears to your eyes if you've ever lost a loved one, plus sounds tinged with reggae, Indian, and guitar work to die for.

This is not just another typical reworking of familar hits that so many older artists get caught up in but(see :Presley,Elvis) another chapter in the career of one of the most important fiqures in American Musical History,yes it's "new Rivers" but so was Poor Side of Town,so was Rewind(how did they turn out ?)the voice is the same,yet different,it's aged not badly but actually very,very well,try this you'll be better for it...too few may hear it,but all those who do will be better for it. One of THE best CD's of recent memory,Rivers fan or not...try it and you will become one.Magic,captured in a studio...and those who have followed his career will expect no less.Those who haven't followed his career will be in for a pleasant shock. Brilliant work. ---Pete Bowling, amazon.com

Shadows on the Moon is matched by strong material from songwriters like Michael Georgiades (former partner of Bernie Leadon of The Eagles), Jack Tempchin (Peaceful, Easy Feeling, Slow Dancin Swaying to the Music, and Jimmy Webb (well, you know Jimmy Webb-I hope). The first six songs of the album are penned by Georgeiades, a long underrated songwriter. These songs add a concept of cloaked messages about the passage of a generation and the pull toward spirituality. Most significant of these songs are Hard Heart, Somebody to Love and the title track Shadows on the Moon. Hard Heart powerfully addresses the excesses and insensitivity of the political, ethical and moral shortcomings of the Bush years in a clever way cloaked in a love song. Somebody to Love is a prayer for the need love in the world.

The last six songs focus on the personal journey through love, renewal and redemption. Songs like Walk in the Rain and Beautiful World, speak of daily personal joys, that become more precious as we grow older while the time passes. The beauty of songs like Slips Away and Where Words End by Jimmy Webb bring home the answer to the problems posed on the first six songs sometimes dealing with the disillusionment of the past. These songs point to the need to come home to our own lives, aside from a collective ideal, to find virtue and fulfillment there. A bonus track The American Dream, adds humor to the album and gives the listener a lighter look at the recent economic crisis.

While this album brings together a diversity of writing styles, instrumentation which clearly produces a feel of modern folk-rock, it never loses its pop sensibility of appealing arrangements and accessible production which can play as just a feel good listen or allow a deeper listen into the insights of the writing and the soulful vocal Johnny Rivers brings to each song in his own unique way.

Finally, the driving force and cohesive thread which runs through the album's concept, material and music is Rivers' distinct, familiar voice calling our memories back to the magic times we lived through but, never allowing us the comfort of nostalgia instead, through some fine acoustic music, skillful songwriting, and that one-of-a kind voice, challenges us to find our life and passion in today's turbulent world. ---folkworks.org

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Johnny Rivers ‎– Johnny Rivers Rocks The Folk (1965)

2018-05-31T15:04:07Z

Johnny Rivers ‎– Johnny Rivers Rocks The Folk (1965)


A1 	Tom Dooley 	
A2 	Long Time Man 	
A3 	Michael 	
A4 	Blowin' In The Wind 	
A5 	Green, Green 	
A6 	Where Have All The Flowers Gone 	
B1 	If I Had A Hammer 	
B2 	Tall Oak Tree 	
B3 	Catch The Wind 	
B4 	500 Miles 	
B5 	Mr. Tamborine Man 	
B6 	Jailer Bring Me Water

Johnny Rivers - Guitar, Primary Artist, Vocals 
Chuck Day - Bass
Mickey Jones - Drums

When the folk-rock ship arrived, Rivers was ready to jump aboard, with assistance from producer Lou Adler (then also handling Barry McGuire and the Mamas and the Papas). "Twelve Greatest Folk Songs in His A Go-Go Style" reads the subtitle, and it's an accurate description of a set dominated by some of the most familiar folk songs of the era: "Tom Dooley," "Michael (Row the Boat Ashore)," "Blowin' in the Wind," "Green, Green," "Where Have All the Flowers Gone," "If I Had a Hammer," and "500 Miles." More contemporary material gets a nod via versions of Donovan's "Catch the Wind" and Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man." Basically, however, it sounds like a mid-'60s Johnny Rivers album: nearly unvarying mid-tempo, easy-to-handclap-along-with rhythms, soulful female backup harmonies, and easy-rocking lead vocals. Quality folk-rock took the best of both genres to create something greater than the sum of the parts, but Rivers just laid his own (pretty derivative) commercial pop/rock style on a set of folk material. That means this LP lacks the imagination necessary to rate as interesting folk-rock, though it's adequately pleasant. A historical curiosity, it bears some similarity to the first hit albums by Trini Lopez, though with a heavier rock feel. That similarity is not unexpected given that drummer Mickey Jones had played with Lopez (and, in a more surprising twist, would soon go on to play with future Band members in the group that backed Bob Dylan on his famous 1966 world tour). ---Richie Unterberger, AllMusic Review

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Johnny Rivers – Blue Suede Shoes (1973)

2011-06-15T11:36:44Z

Johnny Rivers – Blue Suede Shoes (1973)

1 - Blue Suede Shoes 2:46
2 - Medley Searchin', So Fine 3:51
3 - It's Alright 3:07			play
4 - Hang On Sloopy 4:19
5 - I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better 2:51
6 - Solitary Man 2:41
7 - Over The Line 4:15
8 - Willie And The Hand Jive 5:01	play
9 - Got My Mojo Workin' 5:25
10 - Turn On Your Love Light 5:20

Personnel:
Larry Carlton/Guitar
Gary Coleman/Conga, Percussion, Sound Effects
Chuck Findley/Horn
Chuck Finley/Trumpet
Michael Georgiades/Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Jim Gordon/Drums
James Hendricks/Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Jim Horn/Sax (Baritone), Sax (Tenor), Saxophone
Jackie Kelso/Sax (Tenor), Saxophone
Larry Knechtel/Piano
Michael Omartian/Keyboards, Organ, Piano, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Joe Osborn/Bass
Dean Parks/Guitar, Slide Guitar
Herb Pedersen/Banjo, Vocals
Johnny Rivers/Guitar (Rhythm), Vocals

Blue Suede Shoes had the renowned '60s rock & roller reaching back a decade or more, while in the company of top L.A. session men Joe Osborn, Jim Gordon, Larry Knechtel, Jim Horn, Dean Parks, et al. The resulting album, a mix of classic '50s rock & roll and soul, augmented with a few mid-'60s gems ("I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better," "Solitary Man"), was about as straightforwardly pleasing a roots rock record as one was going to find in 1973, and the tragedy was that few people were listening at the time. In an era in which they were mostly known to oldies buffs and most often heard as Richard Nader's nostalgia-fests, the prominently featured songwriters were Leiber & Stoller, Johnny Otis, and Carl Perkins (and Curtis Mayfield, Gene Clark, Neil Diamond, etc.). He even displayed a cleverness in the song selection, juxtaposing "Hang on Sloopy," with its "feel so good" chorus and vamp, with "Feel a Whole Lot Better," the latter stripped down and punched up in a manner that anticipated the Flamin' Groovies' adaptation of the song. It's also fascinating to hear Neil Diamond's "Solitary Man" stripped of its horns and redone as a slightly harder rocking ballad. The entire production was superb, lean, and sinewy, without any excesses, and the whole album came off as worthy successor to Rivers' classic '60s releases. --- Bruce Eder

The American rock & roll singer-songwriter and music producer Johnny Rivers was born John Henry Ramistella, on the 7 of November 1942, in New York City; at the age of five his father moved the family to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Rivers' father began teaching him to play the guitar at the age of eight and his recording career began in 1956 at the age of 14 while still in junior high school. At 16, while on a trip to New York City, Rivers got his first break when he met rock and roll pioneer DJ Alan Freed who hooked Rivers up with a recording contract. Rivers' soulful, bluesy Louisiana rock was not popular when his first few records were released, but when he started performing at the Whisky a Go Go on Sunset Strip, his sound found an audience; it quickly became known as the "Go Go sound".

Rivers eventually ended up with many hit songs, including "Seventh Son", "Poor Side of Town", and "Secret Agent Man", from more than 30 albums. It was as producer for 5th Dimension, who were signed to Rivers' own record label Soul City Records, that eventually led to his only Grammy Award. Rivers has continued to record, with his most recent release, Last Boogie in Paris: The Complete Concert (live), released in 2007. His last Top 10 chart entry was in 1977 with "Swayin' to the Music (Slow Dancing)". ---amazon.com

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