Brother John – Black Crow
Self-produced CD
13 songs – 54 minutes
A pair of seasoned professionals who are carrying the country blues traditions of the Piedmont and Delta forward into the 21st century, Philadelphia-based guitarist Johnny Never and harp player John Colgan-Davis are so close, they bill themselves as brother John. And they fit together like hand to glove on this delightful, mostly original set that’s packed with plenty of traditional feel.
The junior member of the group, Never’s a gifted picker, slide player and tunesmith who’s been performing as a soloist for the past 20 years, touring from the Mid-Atlantic into Canada. He’s a two-time competitor in the International Blues Challenge.
Colgan-Davis began his career in the 1970s, during which he teamed with and recorded with Bonnie Raitt at radio station WMMR in the city. He’s toured with both Sparky Rutger and the John Cadillac Band, and he a founding member of the Dukes of Destiny, a longtime Philly favorite. This is their first album after performing together throughout the Northeast for the past decade.
Primarily captured at MorningStar Studios in Norriton, Pa., the two Johns are energetic performers with instantaneous appeal. Guests include keyboard player Chicago Carl Snyder, upright bassists Alan Levine and Jimmy Pritchard, percussionist Mark Shewchuk and backup singers Holly Hoffman, Shannon Roberts and Monica Moran. Never alternates between standard and resonator guitars throughout, simultaneously adding rhythm on a stomp box while Colgan-Davis adds steady-flowing leads and fills.
The gospel-influenced “Bread and Salt” kicks off the action with accompaniment from the ladies as a chorus. It recounts leading home one day and finding that the singer’s lady has moved out, leaving behind the two items in the title. It drives forward hypnotically before flowing into “New Sovereigns Blues,” which pays tribute to both the picking of Robert Johnson and the protest songs of Big Bill Broonzy as it complains about troubles on the homefront. Never’s resonator comes to the fore for the autobiographical “Svelte Man Blues” before the title track, “Black Crow,” bemoans the death of a loved one.
The only cover and live recording in the set, Charley Patton’s “Dirt Road Blues” is up next, giving way to “Wandering Eye Blues,” a Piedmont-style pleaser in which the singer can’t maintain his focus on the woman he loves. Never shows off his prowess on slide tasty for love song “No Place Like Home” with Colgan-Davis adding a superlative mid-tune solo along with fluid runs. The action slows for the humorous “That Thing You Did Last Night,” a sly poke in the ribs to a man who’s clearly thinking with the wrong head.
“Old Man Mose” is up next, borrowing strongly from the blues tradition as it describes a man who’s hit the highway walking after his lady’s turned him out. Then Colgan-Davis gets to shine as Never describes his crazy-in-love lady in “Sexy Baby Blues.” The minor-key “Whiskey Glass,” lesson in fingerpicking and “Five Miles” and “Cook It to the Bone,” which describes a lady with feline qualities, bring the action to a close.
A gentle offering with plenty of old-school appeal, Black Crow’s a winner for anyone with a love for acoustic blues.
