Tony Holiday – Motel Mississippi
http://www.tonyholidaymusic.com
8 Tracks – 25 minutes
Tony Holiday moved from his hometown of Salt Lake City to Memphis in 2017 and immediately became entrenched in that cities’ resurrection of soul blues. He gathered a number of artists around him including John Primer, Bob Corritore, John Nemeth, Charlie Musselwhite and many others for a 2019 album he referenced as Porch Sessions, an obvious reference to old blues recordings that were made on the porches of musicians. Here he captured musicians on their porches as well as rowdy night spots and juke joints. A follow-up album in 2021, Porch Sessions, Vol. 2 added Victor Wainwright, Kim Wilson, Bobby Rush, Dennis Gruenling and a continued vast array of other similar artists.
In between, in 2020 he released his first actual solo album, Soul Service. 2023 features a release of his second solo album, which at 25 minutes is probably considered something close to an EP. Like his porch sessions, the album is a true collaboration with the other performers on the album. A.J. Fullerton wrote or co-wrote six of the eight songs on the album and co-produced the album with Dave Gross. Fullerton also plays guitar and banjo on the album. Tony cowrote two songs with Fullerton and one also added Victor Wainwright as a cowriter. Tony plays the harmonica and adds soulful vocals, Victor does show up on keyboards. Dave Gross fills on guitar, accordion, keyboards, Moog synthesizer, percussion and backing vocals. Other musicians on the album include Audrey McCrady on guitar, Terence Grayson on bass, Lee Williams, Jr. on drums, Jake Friel on harmonica and Mikey Junior providing backing vocals. The album was recorded at Zebra Ranch in Coldwater, Mississippi, the studio founded by the late Jim Dickinson.
A cover of Paul Wine Jones “Rob and Steal” opens the album with a swampy tale with some funky guitar work from Dave Gross and some underlying organ playing in for a unique sound for a roots recording. Holiday’s harmonica leads the next song as Tony sings “I Just need a little bit to “Get By””. Gross again delivers some fine guitar into the mix.
Victor Wainwright pulls out his clavinet to join Tony’s harmonica as Tony sings “I have been here before.” and begs “Trouble” “…don’t come here no more”. A bouncy more straight-forward blues song comes next with “She’s So Cold” but she “has me under her spell.”
On “Just As Gone”, Tony picks up the speed with a train beat rhythm. Aubrey McGrady inserts some slide guitar work. Tony next sings that there is “Nobody but You” but “I love you pretty girl…even though you done me wrong”.
“You Know Who I Am” definitely comes from the swamp and a rhythmic drumbeat is the driving force. He asks her to “ignore what everyone is saying” about him. The album closes with a moving instrumental trip up the “Yazoo River”.
The album is completely a Delta driven concoction but with fresh, unexpected sounds outside of the normal approach to such songs. Tony’s vocals are appealing and his harmonica, although sometimes spare in the short length of the songs, still captures attention.
