John Christopher Morgan – Right On Time
Self-release
www.facebook.com/61577322175813
13 songs – 45 minutes
John Christopher Morgan is a Ventura, CA, based drummer and vocalist and, while Right On Time is his debut album, he has had a long and storied career in music, playing, touring and recording with a vast array of renowned musicians, including Johnny Thunders, Lester Butler, Robert Lucas, King Ernest, and Mitch Ryder. On Right On Time, he has surrounded himself with various friends made over the years and released a glorious set of blues, roots and soul, with nine original songs and some marvelously re-imagined covers.
The album was produced and engineered by Ralph Carter at Ralph Carter Studios and Pacifica Recording Studios and he has captured a series of powerful performances from all involved. Of particular note is that, despite a large number of revolving guest musicians, there is a consistency in sound and quality throughout.
Morgan handles all the drumming and percussion duties and most of the lead vocals. He is aided and abetted by Carter on bass on every track (bar “Done Got Over It”, which features Blake Watson), together with Martin Gagnon on piano on a number of songs. On various other tracks, guests include Bill Flores on accordion, Aaron Liddard on saxophone, Trevor Mires on trombone, Simon Finch on trumpet, Ron Dziubla on saxophone and flute, vocalists Marcy Levy, Jamie Wood and Viva Vinson and harmonica player, RJ Mischo. Perhaps most eye-catching, however, is the list of guest guitarists, who include Albert Lee, Zach Zunis, Franck Goldwasser, Rick Holmstrom, Trevor West Morgan and Brophy Dale.
It goes without saying that Morgan is a top drawer drummer and percussionist, but he is also a fine vocalist, singing in a roadworn voice that suits the roadhouse material perfectly. It also blends perfectly with the other singers, providing dramatic contrast in duets such as “Ain’t We All In It Together” (with Vinson), “San Buenaventura” (with Macy) and “The Jeweler’s Daughter” (with Woods).
Highlights abound throughout this album. The covers are expertly chosen. Bo Diddley’s 1965 hit, “Let The Kids Dance”, is given a delightful run-through, while “Black Bag Blues” is a heartfelt tribute to King Ernest and Lester Bangs with a stand-out performance by Zach Zunis. Guitar Slim’s classic, “Done Got Over It” is given a jungle-beat workover with magically reverb-laden guitar by Brody. Even more left-field is Huey Lewis and The News’ mid-80s neo-doo wop masterpiece, “Bad Is Bad”, which is re-imagined as a roaring shuffle with majestic harp from Mischo. The self-written tracks are all of equally high quality. Albert Lee’s scorching guitar adds a country flavor to the opening rock’n’roll track, “Vidalia”, and to the closing Cajun dance of “Right On Time”. The instrumental, “Jumpin’ With Leon”, lets Goldwasser demonstrate his expertise in West Coast jump blues (although also check out his ferocious straight blues guitar on the slow “Black Bottom Blues”). “Last Heartbeat” is a lovely piece of classic soul, with powerful horns and backing vocals, while “The Jeweler’s Daughter is a furious slow blues, with great horns, superb vocal interplay between Morgan and Wood and an outrageously good guitar solo from Zunis.
Right On Time is a superb release that deserves a wide audience. This is modern blues and roots music at its best. One of the best albums of the year.
