Toronzo Cannon – Shut Up & Play!
Alligator Records ALCD5020
12 songs – 53 minutes
There’s nobody in the blues deeper blue than Toronzo Cannon. After all, he spent a lifetime behind the wheel of a Chicago Transit Authority bus navigating the mean streets of the inner city. A deep thinker in addition to being an exceptionally gifted guitar slinger, he cuts like a knife here, delivering deep insights about love, family and life in general.
A ten-time Blues Music Award nominee, the native South Sider grew up a short walk from Theresa’s Lounge, where he spent hours standing outside the club, absorbing the sounds of Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, John Primer and others, all of whom cast an azure spell that helped turn him into the colossus he is today.
Forays into reggae and Jimi Hendrix-inspired rock followed before Cannon returned to the blues in his 20s and started working as a sideman for Tommy McCracklin, Wayne Baker Brooks, L.V. Banks and Joanna Connor, all the while piloting a bus full time by day to support his wife and daughter. The antithesis of the acerbic Ralph Kramden and a keen observer of his surroundings, he finally left the job after a 25-year run to devote his life to music once she was grown.
Toronzo’s been fronting his own band since 2001, and it simply smokes throughout this all-original set. The current lineup includes Cole DeGenova on keys, Brian Quinn on bass and Jason “Jroc” Edwards and Phillip “Dante” Burgess Jr. on drums. The only outside help comes from harp player Matthew Skoller who sits in on one cut. Produced in partnership with Alligator’s chief honcho, Bruce Iglauer, it was recorded and mixed at Joyride Studios by Blaise Barton.
A repetitive guitar hook opens “Can’t Fix the World” before it explodes into a number that deals with the hypocrisy and dishonesty of politicians who act like gods while Cannon admits all he can do is play his axe because he has no solution. DeGenova shines on the mid-tune solo. It gives way to the sweeping “I Hate Love,” which contains plenty of the biting six-string Toronzo’s fans adore and is delivered from the standpoint of someone who believes he’d be living a lie if he were in a commitment and dealing with all of the responsibilities, too.
The medium-paced shuffle, “Him,” comes with a heaping helping of South Side appeal as Toronzo finally realizes that his relationship troubles exist because his woman still hasn’t gotten over her former man. It’s time to let her go, he says, even though he’s still deeply in love, a fact driven home by the searing coda. The tempo and mood brighten somewhat as Cannon launches into the rapid-paced “Had to Go Through It to Get to It,” a handclap-driven pleaser with gospel appeal that stresses you have to cross the hurdles to achieve your goals, whatever they may be.
“Something to Do Man” lopes out of the gate and describes a late-night call from a lady wanting a booty call from her go-to guy before things get quiet and intimate for the ballad, “Message to My Daughter,” in which Toronzo vows he’ll always be there despite having grown up in what’s now a broken family while the deep-blue “Unlovable” announces the importance of remaining affectionate and supportive when your partner’s going through difficult times. It flows into “Guilty,” which states that everyone’s accountable for everything they do.
The uptempo “Got Me by the Short Hairs” finds Cannon cornered two months after a one-night stand because the woman’s pregnant, and he’s still wondering if he’s the father after the baby’s born. Skoller’s on board for the barebones “My Woman Loves Me Too Much” before Toronzo serves up a warning to a nagging lady in “If I’m Always Wrong.” He closes with the title number, “Shut Up and Play,” a complaint about critics telling him to keep quiet and stick to his instrument instead of speaking his mind.
Toronzo Cannon has something to say. And, man, he can play. Chicago blues at its best!
