Johnny Ray Jones - Mystic Chiefs (2024) [CD Rip]

This is Johnny Ray Jones’ third studio album and the first with his new band, the Mystic Chiefs. Jones is certainly not a generally known household name, but if this album proves anything he should be. California born Johnny Ray got his start by sneaking into shows in Redondo Beach in the late 70’s to soak in the music vibe of the era. At around age 19 or 20, Johnny went to a regular Sunday night blues jam held at the Taurus Tavern in Venice to see Sam Taylor, but Sam was ill that night and his guitarist Coco Montoya took the lead for the show, which included guitarist James Armstrong. He sang with that group that night for his first time on stage. Afterwards he became a regular at the jam session.

Johnny has since sung in bands with Big Joe Turner, Phillip Walker, and Lee Allen and played on bills with John Mayall, Jeff Healy, Janiva Magness, Walter Trout and others. He released his first solo album, Back in the Door, in 2017 and the second, Way Down South, in 2021. For this newest album, Johnny decided he wanted to focus on the classic songs that drove him to sing the blues and is the bedrock of his stage shows. To get the sound he wanted, he gathered some of the best musicians that he knew to join him in the new group, the Mystic Chiefs, so named because each of the chosen musicians are recognized as some of the best solo musicians or in their respective bands.

The Mystic Chiefs are Johnny Ray on vocals, guitarist Junior Watson (The Mighty Flyers, Canned Heat, William Clarke) Pianists Carl Sonny Leyland (Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys), harp player Tex Nakamura (War), bassist John Bazz (The Blasters), percussionist Stephen Hodges (Tom Waits, Mavi Staples, James Harman), and drummer J.R. Lozano (Los Lobos). Johnny Lee Schell, who provided the recording, engineering and mastering of this album and on Johnny Ray’s previous two albums, also adds rhythm guitar on the album.

The album opens with Lester Butler’s song “Automatic”. Lester was the leader, vocalist, and harmonica player for The Red Devils, a short-lived band which released two albums in the 1990’s. Johnny sat in with that bad for the recording of their first album, King King, which is represented by three songs on this album. This song was released as a single in 1992 with a flipside of “Devil Woman” The latter song is the third track on this album. Tex’s harp sets the tone at the beginning and Johnny’s powerhouse vocals bursts out with Carl’s piano getting the album on in ear-catching and energetic start.

The second song is Sonny Boy Williamson II’s 1966 song “Trying to Get Back on My Feet”. Johnny Ray’s growling, soulful vocals blend with some excellent guitar runs from Junior. The aforementioned “Devil Woman” is again led by Tex’s harp as Johnny sings “I met a devil woman in a dream last night…and I heard my mama cry”. Willie Dixon’s 1956 song “Don’t Go No Further” was originally performed by Muddy Waters and subsequently by The Doors, Canned Heat and many others. The song also has a connection to The Red Devils who recorded the song as a back-up band for a never released album by Mick Jaggers. Johnny sings “I’ve got to love somebody; somebody has got to love me”. Junior, Tex and Carl all take ripping turns.

James “Slim Harpo” Moore’s 1966 hit song that tells everyone “Don’t move your head…Shake Your Hips” gets the whole band into boogie mode with more great harp work from Tex and some interesting guitar work. Billy Bob Arnold’s 1955 song “I Wish You Would” was written at a time that Billy Bob was playing with Bo Diddly and has a Bo Diddly styled rhythm. Another Willie Dixon penned, Muddy Water’s performed song, “I’m Ready” from 1952 has been performed by lots of performers from Albert King, George Thorogood, Aerosmith and others. Johnny Ray’s band and vocals serve the song well.

He returns to the Lester Butler songbook with “No Fightin'”, another song that appeared on Butler’s 1992 album which included the previous two songs on this album. Melvin London’s 1995 Song, “Sugar Sweet” again is a tight again letting Carl loose on the piano. On Sonny Boy Williamson II’s 1963 song, “My Younger Days”, Johnny Ray wishes ” I just knew then what I know now” and runs the gamut of what he could have had. He closes the album with a powerful version of Howlin’ Wolf’s 1954 song, “I’ll Be Around”.

Jones says in his liner notes that he wants to draw a line from the 1960’s Chicago blues of Paul Butterfield, Mike Bloomfield, Charlie Musselwhite to the great roots’ rockers The Blasters, James Harman and The Red Devils. CHECK! He said he wanted to put together some of the finest musicians to deliver the sounds of the eras. CHECK! And his liner notes describe his vocals as a “blues shouter”, which is probably true but that is too limiting a description of Johnny Ray’s powerful voice. That is like putting one adjective to describe the voices of Howlin’ Wolf, John Lee Hooker, or any other of the strong vocalists of the past. Johnny Ray’s voice has a texture uniquely his own but in keeping with the sound of those greats and in some moments of the songs, I picked out an inflection that reminded of Jerry Lee Lewis.

Sometimes albums that are all cover songs fall into the trap of being nothing more than weak karaoke imitations of the past performers. This one properly respects the songs but delivers every song in a crisp, modern tone that will grab an audience that loves those classics and can introduce a new audience to what those songs represent in the long canon of the blues. A final big CHECK! ~John Sacksteder