Jonathon ‘Boogie’ Long – Courage In The Chaos
Myrical Records – 2026
11 tracks; 46 minutes
Louisiana’s Jonathon Long was a child prodigy who jammed with Kenny Neal at 10, toured with Henry Turner and Luther Kent from 14 and released his debut album in 2012. After a second independent album Jonathon released two albums on Samantha Fish’s label, Wild Heart Records. After a gap of five years he now returns with this album, produced by former LeRoux member Jim Odom on his Myrical Records imprint. Jonathon handles all the vocals and guitar and wrote nine of the tunes here. There are three bands; Jonathon’s regular band of Corban Barnes on organ, Bo Burkes on bass and Brian Brignac (plus second guitarist Brice Pastorchik) were recorded live at New Orleans Jazzfest; two studio bands also support Jonathon; Nelson Blanchard on organ, David Ellis on bass and Terence Higgins on drums; John Gros on organ, Allan Maxwell on bass and Doug Belote on drums. Several of those names will be familiar to followers of New Orleans music.
Jonathon’s music ranges from the boogie tunes that his nickname suggests through to Southern Rock and plenty of riffs that come from both rock and blues sources. As is now the trend, the album was previewed via three single releases: “A Fool Can See” harks back to 70’s rock with a core riff over which Jonathon layers two separate solos; ‘Baby I’m Through’ features Jonathon’s vocals and more vibrant guitar on a rather more melodic tune; “Hell Or High Water” is a boogie tune which races along, Jonathon determined to make it back to his girl “When I get there, baby, I’m gonna wrap you in my arms… ready to engage in things I might regret”.
On “Insanity” the central riff provides a great backdrop for this tale of struggling to stay in control of one’s emotions as Jonathon delivers some exciting guitar as well as delicate acoustic picking on the outro, his vocals really expressing the angst of the lyrics. In similar vein Jonathon declares that “The World Is A Prison”, yet “when I’m gone I’m gonna miss it”, all delivered with striking guitar work. The hard-driving “Tomorrow” is another strong boogie tune whilst two slow ballads break up the album: “Drinking Through” has heartfelt lyrics about broken relationships and a slow blues-rock tune with dramatic guitar finds the singer reading a goodbye note written in “Lipstick”.
The two covers are both excellent. Michael Burks’ “Empty Promises” was recently covered by Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram, but Jonathon’s take on the tune is well worth hearing, his vocals particularly good here on the familiar tune, and the guitar right on point. The other cover is the Marshall Tucker Band’s “Can’t You See”, a tune firmly in the Southern Rock style, well played by the band, the organ offering fine support to the guitar and vocals. A little crowd noise betrays that “Catfish Blues” is from the Jazzfest set. The title may be familiar but this is a JL original with its roots firmly in the blues as Jonathon has fun with lots of hot guitar and some scat singing too, all leading to a rousing finale, both to the live set and to this album.
Clearly this is not a straight blues album, but if you enjoy strong vocals and guitar, touches of Southern Rock and plenty of toe-tapping riffs, you will certainly enjoy this one.
