John Logan & The Lix
Self-Release – 2026
6 tracks; 21 minutes
John Logan was born in Indiana to a family that loved music. He lived in the Bay Area in the 60’s, Wyoming in the 70’s and Austin in the 80’s. Since 1995 he has been a mainstay of the St Louis, Missouri, scene where he plays solo, as lead guitarist with Brother Jefferson and with his own trio, The Lix. On this short release John handles guitar and vocals with Mike Graham on bass and Benet Schaeffer on drums; Frank Bauer adds sax to one track. John wrote five of these songs, assisted on one by an old friend from his Austin days, Mike Morgan (now running a recording studio in Texas) and adapted an old Mississippi John Hurt tune that he has been playing for many years.
The album opens with an attractive blues shuffle entitled “Little Bird”, the guitar work clear and concise, a good start. The second track also features John’s clean picking, John’s lady clearly well versed in the blues as he tells us that “(She Likes It) Greasy”, the lyrics referencing Elmore James, Magic Sam and Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson, but “Muddy Waters is the man”. A change of pace next on “Midnite In The City” which has a jazzy feel with brushed drums, gentle bass and guitar and featuring Frank Bauer’s guest spot on breathy sax, solo honours going to Frank and John’s beautifully poised, relaxed guitar work.
John ups the pace with “Baby’s Got A Lock On My Heart” which brings a hint of Rockabilly, the swinging bass lines driving the fun tune along. There may well be some influence from John’s time in Texas here, and there definitely is on “55 Thunderbird”, the song that he wrote with Mike Morgan (presumably when he was living in Austin). That Texas roadhouse style is very much in evidence here as John celebrates the lure of a fine automobile, a car that avoids the need to be cool yourself as “Thunderbird is going to do it for you; you’re cool the minute you’re behind the wheel”! John has been playing Mississippi John Hurt’s “Brownsville Woman Blues” since his San Francisco days in the 60’s and here he gives us a solo acoustic version, showing that he is a deft picker in the Piedmont style also.
This varied little release gives us a good view of John Logan’s talents, notably a delicate touch on the guitar. An enjoyable listen, available from John’s website.
