Greg Izor with The Royal We – Sustained Winds
For The Road Records
10 Tracks – 35 Minutes
Greg Izor is a native of Vermont but made his big move into music when he moved to New Orleans in 2000. With a concentration of learning the blues and developing his skills on the harmonica, Jumpin’ Johnny Sansone became a mentor for the young blues player. Whie in New Orleans he played with many blues greats including Henry Gray, Walter “Wolfman” Washington, and Calrence “Gatemouth” Brown, and was a member of the house band at Clarence’s BBQ joint in Slidell.
In 2006, He shifted to the rising music scene in Austin where he played with Pinetop Perkins, Gary Primich, Paul Oscher, Marcia Ball and joined in with some of his generations’ blues artists like Gary Clark, Jr. and Nick Curran. His star continued to rise when he was selected to join Anson Funderburgh and The Rockets, following in the footsteps of his hero, Sam Myers. In 2012, he released his first solo record, I Was Wrong. Several more albums followed.
In 2019, he moved to Europe and has been touring the continent, sharing his knowledge with many local performers and getting involved in producing and playing with various bands. He released a collaborative EP, Chucufu, with the Netherlands based Ticket West. He is now a founding member of the Madrid based The Royal We. Greg plays harmonica, guitar, bass, percussion, and electric sitar on the album and provides all vocals. Cesar Crespol on electric and acoustic guitar and percussion, and Javi Suarez on guitar, percussion and mandolin completes the group. Guests Luis Madonado and Pascu Monjet play drums on various cuts, with Paul San Martini on piano, and Christian Morana sitting in on bass on two tracks.
Greg made the decision to forgo drums on some tracks and wanted a simpler sound for the recording. For his solo work, he used the same microphones that Muddy Waters used for his 1964 album, “Folk Singer”. His music is described as “” a broad musical backdrop covering all kinds of roots music”, but even that lacks some description as Greg takes the known music styles and finds ways to recreate them in his unique vision while not diverting from the traditional styles.
Greg wrote all ten of the original compositions for the album. On “Go Ahead On”, he advises “Think you can live without love, you’re right. Seems like the thing you want to do is hang around every night, there is no reason to change.” The song starts as a simple guitar and drum-oriented song until Greg pulls out his harmonica halfway through the song. “Untrue” starts with Greg’s harmonica and quickly slides into a swampy lament “Now you might be blessed until the end of time, pulled your heart, and I’ve got a hole in mine…You are so untrue.” “Here on Ice” has a more classical blues sound as she has him “cooling my heels” and Cesar gets an opportunity to shine on his guitar.
“Lies of Omission” starts with some smooth harmonica and Javi’s mandolin and Greg sings “he is leaving out what I should leave in”, but “she is hip enough to see where it is at”. His “mind is occupied by that bad girl” “Ines” in a slight shuffle. On “All the Same”, he says she is “telling all the same old lies and I don’t say much as there is not much to say”. On “I Never Gamble”, he declares “I’ve got a devil on my shoulder…I never gamble, don’t have much to lose”.
“Pls Understand” is a throwback to a sixties styled stroll as he tells her “I might cry some tears, but I will do it alone.” He pulls out a bass harmonica on the song and adds sitar. On “Once Was Enough” he says, “I had love one time and now my love is gone” and advises that “I’m not looking for a wife, not trying to put a ring on your hand, just trying to have fun as long as I can.” “Up To the Top” gets things jumping at the end as Greg notes “Some folks live in a penthouse looking out over town, but I live in a rooftop model and can’t even see around” but tells her to “Come on take those steps up to the top, enjoy what time we got.”
For the most part, the album can be classified as a relaxed country-styled blues with a few jumping off points. Greg’s easy vocals just cruise along in the songs and leaves you waiting for his burst of harmonica.
