Greg Nagy – Just A Little More Time
Independent
11 tracks – 47 minutes
Prior to starting a solo career, Greg Nagy was the lead guitarist and songwriter for the Michigan-based band, Root Doctor, from 2005 – 2010. In 2010, he branched out as a solo act and released his debut album, Walk That Fine Thin Line. The album immediately caught critical attention and led to Greg receiving a Best New Artist nomination at the 2011 Blues Music Awards. This is now Greg’s fifth solo album release.
Greg takes all the lead vocals and guitar work with exception of track 5 which has Josh Ford and Bobby Murray, Etta James’ former guitarist, teaming up for the guitar leads. Josh also adds guitar on five other tracks and percussion on three. John Barron plays bass on all tracks except the last, which Rocco Popoielarski plays on. Dummer Todd Glass plays drums on nine tracks with Renee Gonsalves and Donny Brown playing on the other two. Jim Alfredson plays keyboards on eight tracks with Clif Metcalf on the other three. Keith Kaminski plays sax, and Charlie Miller plays trumpet on four tracks. On track 5, James Hughes plays sax, jimmy Smith plays trumpet, and Matt Matinez plays trombone. Rae Wiliams, Tosha Owens, and Nikell Johnson add backing vocals on tracks 7,8, and 10 respectively.
Five originals and six covers open with the title song. He tells her “You know I’m your man; all I ask of you is “Just a Little More Time”. “I recall the day we met; something just couldn’t do. Didn’t know your love just yet. Couldn’t see the truth. Now here you are shining down on me”. All in a very soulful horn drenched love song. A cover of Eddie “Guitar Slim” James’ 1957 song “It Hurts to Love Someone” follows in a low stroll. He notes “If You give trust, if you give your soul, and when finished she gives you the cold, that’s why it hurts”. Returning to an original, “Breaking Me (but making me a better man)” is another slow-burning soul song with Alfredson’s organ leading the way. as he exclaims “I will always be here, the better man in my heart” as she has left with another man.
On “Between the Darkness and the Light” he proclaims, “The whole town is drowning, but can’t get a drop to drink. We are entangled with rust beneath our feet. Your heart is breaking and so is mine” as he offers a glimpse into his internal pain. “Love Letter” is a 1995 song written by Bob Murray, who played guitar for Etta James for 23 years, to express his love and reverence for her in a biographical story of Etta. Bob’s guitar carries the emotional weight of the song with Greg delivering an impeccable vocal addressing the missing love. “My Buddy” is a funky guitar and organ driven instrumental.
Alice Cooper’s “Only Women Bleed” from the 1975 album “Welcome to Nightmare” has been stripped down to its soulful basics. The song suffered many feminist attacks based on the title alone. In reality, the song was about spousal abuse – “she spends her life through pleasing up her man, he slaps her once in a while and loves the pain”. The song, while controversial, continues to address women’s issues today and provides one man’s recognition of what many women suffer. “Big City” is the final original on the album addressing the struggles and the loneliness that must be endured in chasing a musical career. Swirling guitar mixes with Alfredson’s organ in a backwash expressing the confusion between the desire for success and the passage of personal life.
The album ends with three covers’ Tony Joe White’s 1969 recognized masterpiece “Rainy Night in Georgia” gets a fine interpretation by Greg. Greg shifts The Grateful Dead’s much played 1972 song Sugaree written by Jerry Garcia, Bill Kreutzmann, and Robert Hunter into a solid romantic blues. John Lee Hooker’s 1951 “I’m In the Mood” concludes the romantic tone of the album with the certainty that “nighttime is the right time to be with the one you love”. Jim Alfredson really cuts loose on the organ on this one.
Greg’s vocals have a calm and sensuous tone mixed with a guitar that melts into the soul of the music. The keyboard work and easy beat of the drums continuously find the right element in the backing of Greg’s performance. Overall, it is modern soul music that deserves to be heard.
