{"id":3312,"date":"2024-10-18T00:08:02","date_gmt":"2024-10-18T00:08:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=3312"},"modified":"2024-10-18T00:11:41","modified_gmt":"2024-10-18T00:11:41","slug":"ftv-jim-steves-new-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=3312","title":{"rendered":"FTV: Jim & Steve’s New Music"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Our good friend Gary Tanin at Daystorm Music in Milwaukee recently sent along Jim Eannelli\u2019s first solo album <\/span>Just Deserts<\/span><\/i> which was released in both digital and physical formats on September 27, 2024. \u00a0 Yours truly was visiting Eugene, Oregon in late August to catch John Fogerty\u2019s 56th Anniversary Celebration concert when the <\/span>Just Deserts <\/span><\/i>file arrived via email.\u00a0 Unfortunately,\u00a0 I was in the process of testing positive for my first go around with COVID.\u00a0 I was a little dismayed that I managed to contract this accursed virus having traveled masked through four airports on the 17 hour trip to Eugene.\u00a0 Of course I managed to share it with my hosts Elizabeth and Todd at the WOAS West Coast Bureau.\u00a0 Luckily the strain we contracted had mild symptoms and the rest of my west coast adventure was uneventful (minus the 17 hour return trip (masked) via Denver and Chicago on the hottest, most humid day of the late summer).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Isolating at the WCB meant I had ample time to re-acquaint myself with Eannelli.\u00a0 I first encountered his work on four albums Daystorm Music sent to us by Peggy James where Jim\u00a0 served as producer and guitarist.\u00a0 With the release of his new album pending, I dug back into his musical biography to find out more about this outstanding guitarist.\u00a0 To say he has had a long and varied career would be an understatement.\u00a0 His first gig was as the bass player in a rhythm and blues band called The Soul Sensations back in 1966.\u00a0 Between then and his most recent work with Peggy James, he had been the bass player or guitarist in numerous bands playing everything from punk (The Blackholes) to rock (Blackjack) to new wave (The Shivvers), to techno pop (Colour Radio).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0If those don\u2019t provide Jim enough street cred to hang his guitar on, we should also mention his stints with drumming great Kenny Baldwin (Locate Your Lips), bass guitar duties with disco band Montreal, rocking blues band The Shuffleaires, lead guitar duties with The Peggy James Band, performing as the frontman in the power trio The Milktrain, and guitar with the rocking bluegrass band Salt Creek.\u00a0 Did we mention his session work with Victor DeLorenzo (former drummer with the Violent Femmes), Sam Llanas (former BoDean), Martin Jack Rosenblum, his longtime musical collaborator Lil Rev, and (as previously mentioned) Peggy James?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jim Eannelli didn\u2019t just fall off the turnip truck and his vast array of influences certainly show up in the songs on <\/span>Just Deserts.\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>Eannelli worked with Lil\u2019 Rev on the latter\u2019s 20th album (<\/span>Unheard:\u00a0 Songs from the Street<\/span><\/i>).\u00a0 Lil\u2019 Rev credits the \u2018sonic dimension\u2019 Jim added to his new record where Eannelli played guitar, drums, bass and keyboards.\u00a0 Lil\u2019 Rev says, \u201cWe recorded previous albums live with very little overdubbing.\u00a0 By contrast, Eannelli\u2019s production for <\/span>Unheard<\/span><\/i> is multi tracked without losing the music’s organic sensibility.\u201d\u00a0 In his impressive career, Eannelli has also shared bills with Leslie West, Rick Derringer, Nils Lofgren, the Atlanta Rhythm Section, Iggy Pop, The Romantics, Cheap Trick, and The Guess Who to name just a few.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Just Deserts<\/span><\/i> kicks off with the track <\/span>29 Women<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0 It is a catchy tune with a nice driving rhythm. \u00a0 It is followed by <\/span>Where I\u2019ve Been, <\/span><\/i>a song that features great acoustic guitar with slide (or pedal steel) work throughout.\u00a0 Having been around a lot of artists and different genres of music, Eannelli has a chameleon quality that makes him sound like his influences without losing his own voice.\u00a0 <\/span>Where I\u2019ve Been<\/span><\/i> reminded me a bit of Chris Isaak\u2019s best work.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The relaxed, slow shuffle of <\/span>New for You <\/span><\/i>is carried by a nice bass line.\u00a0 The vocals are a perfect match to the feel of this tune.\u00a0 <\/span>Train from Chicago <\/span><\/i>features another catchy opening riff augmented with fluid guitar lines laid out over a nice reverb bed.\u00a0 The build up for the next track, <\/span>Waitin\u2019 <\/span><\/i>takes you into a full acoustic sound backing emotional, but not maudlin, vocals.\u00a0 One feels this song as much as one hears it.\u00a0 <\/span>Christine <\/span><\/i>is another song leaning toward wistful with a lot of emotion in the lyrics and delivery.\u00a0 I really liked the change of pace that takes place around the 3:50 mark and continues to the end of the song.\u00a0 It is a very cool effect.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Young Girl<\/span><\/i> is where I got a hint of Roy Orbison.\u00a0 The middle tracks of <\/span>Just Deserts <\/span><\/i>sound like Jim was writing an extended love letter.\u00a0 Just when I wondered where he would go next, the bouncy Hill Country blues flavor (ala Cedric Burnside and the North Mississippi Allstars) kicked in with <\/span>I Want to Be Your Man.\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>A slight change in direction put a jangly guitar arrangement in my head reminiscent of Tom Petty (both his solo work and his reformed Mudcrutch era) on the track <\/span>Down My Road.\u00a0 Old 97<\/span><\/i> came on with the kind of infectious beat that I love.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t help but desk drumming along with the track\u2019s uptempo gait.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Simple Man<\/span><\/i> is a track that I liked even without drums (yes, drummers always want to hear songs with drums or else they add their own as noted with <\/span>Old 97)<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0 Here the organ arrangement and skilled playing (which is great all across the album) holds up the guitar and vocals without the need for a drum track.\u00a0 <\/span>Just Deserts <\/span><\/i>winds up with <\/span>Should I Try<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0 It is a great closer and the guitar and voice structure screamed \u2018Roger McGuinn\u2019 to me right off the bat.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The \u2018Steve\u2019 in this <\/span>FTV <\/span><\/i>title comes from a bit further south than Milwaukee.\u00a0 Steve Cropper has just released a new solo record and I had read the release announcement during my recovery from my brush with COVID.\u00a0 I must have mentioned it to my wife and bless her soul, she ordered one for my birthday (which just happened to coincide with the release of <\/span>Just Deserts<\/span><\/i>).\u00a0 Ironically, WOAS had recently received a couple of large boxes of CDs from a lower Michigan resident named John Wilson.\u00a0 He had heard about WOAS losing our frequency last year and had contacted me early in 2024 to see if he could donate some of his record collection as he was in the process of downsizing.\u00a0 Wilson even offered to deliver them in person but circumstances prevented him from journeying north this summer.\u00a0 When he emailed to apologize for not getting them to us sooner, he asked if it would be alright to ship them north.\u00a0 Interestingly enough, one of the first CDs I pulled out of the second shipment was Steve Cropper\u2019s solo album of covers (2011 – <\/span>Dedicated<\/span><\/i>) featuring a host of guest vocalists.\u00a0 I have already sent Jon a \u2018thank you WOAS hat\u2019 and when I found out he has a third shipment on the way, a \u2018thank you t-shirt\u2019 soon followed.\u00a0 I kidded Jon we may even have to name a show after him to play all the cool stuff he has sent us.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0First, I better clarify that Cropper’s new album is, technically, not a solo album. It is actually the sophomore release by Steve Cropper & Midnight Hour on the Mascot Label Group \/ Provogue imprint (August 23, 2024).\u00a0 This outing, called <\/span>Friendlytown,<\/span><\/i> is special because it includes Billy F. Gibbons (ZZ Top), Brian May (Queen), and Tim Montana.\u00a0 Though not as well known as May and Gibbons, Montana is a talented country-rock-singer-songwriter and guitarist who has collaborated on some high profile projects with artists like Gibbons and Kid Rock.\u00a0 As Cropper states, \u201cIf your booty is not shaking in the first two bars of this album, you\u2019re already dead in a chair (laughs).\u00a0 I feel so good about this batch of songs.\u00a0 They\u2019re packed with radio hooks, and we have Billy Gibbons, Brian May, and Tim Montana playing on the album – it\u2019s like guitar heaven.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0At 83 years old (he was born on a farm in Willow Springs, Missouri on October 21, 1941), Cropper\u2019s family moved to Memphis when he was nine years old.\u00a0 The black church music he heard there made a big impression on young Steve.\u00a0 He acquired his first guitar when he was fourteen.\u00a0 His earliest influences were guitarists like Lowman Pauling (of the Five Royales), Tal Farlow, Chuck Berry, Jimmy Reed, Chet Atkins, and Billy Butler (from the Bill Doggett band).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Along with guitarist Charlie Freeman, Cropper formed the Royal Spades.\u00a0 They would later change their name to the Mar-Keys in reference to the marquee outside of Satellite Records.\u00a0 They began doing session work and had their own hit single (<\/span>Last Night<\/span><\/i>) in 1961.\u00a0 Satellite Records would later become Stax Records and the label\u2019s president, Jim Stewart, was impressed by the professionalism and maturity the young Cropper displayed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Cropper became the Stax A&R (Artists & Repertory) man in 1964 when Chips Moman left Stax to form American Sound Studio, reportedly after a monetary dispute with label president Stewart.\u00a0 Steve served as the house guitarist at Stax; he would play on many legendary sessions with artists like Otis Redding (<\/span>(Sittin\u2019 on) the Dock of the Bay<\/span><\/i>) and Sam and Dave (<\/span>Soul Man<\/span><\/i>).\u00a0 His name became more widely known as a founding member of the Stax house band, Booker T. & the M.G.s that featured Booker on Hammond organ, Donald \u2018Duck\u2019 Dunn on bass and drummer Al Jackson Jr.\u00a0 Even The Beatles were big fans and they had planned to record with Cropper in Memphis until their manager, Brian Epstein, canceled the sessions due to security problems.\u00a0 Booker T. said the M.G.s, \u201cwere writing sounds, too, especially Steve,\u00a0 He\u2019s very sound-conscious and he gets a lot of sounds out of a Telecaster without changing any settings – just by using his fingers, his picks, and his amps.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Cropper\u2019s songwriting credits are sometimes overlooked.\u00a0 Besides co-writing <\/span>Dock of the Bay, <\/span><\/i>he also got composer\u2019s credit on other hits like Eddie Floyd\u2019s <\/span>Knock On Wood <\/span><\/i>and Wilson Pickett\u2019s <\/span>Midnight Hour.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 He released his first solo album (<\/span>With a Little Help From My Friends<\/span><\/i>) in 1969.\u00a0 He left Stax in 1970 and set up his own TMI studio with Jerry Williams and Ronnie Stoots (whom he worked with in the Mar-Keys).\u00a0 It is no wonder he and Duck Dunn were go-to hires when John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd expanded their <\/span>Saturday Night Live<\/span><\/i> Blues Brother\u2019s sketch into a live concert \/ movie franchise.\u00a0 Working for himself allowed Cropper to work with artists as varied as Tower of Power, Rod Stewart, John Prine, Jose Feliciano, The Jeff Beck Group, Ringo Starr, and John Lennon.\u00a0 By 1975, Steve had relocated to Los Angeles and was working on a revival of Booker T. & the M.G.s only to see it unravel when drummer Jackson was murdered in his Memphis home.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Throughout the last four decades, Cropper has gathered no more moss than a Rolling Stone.\u00a0 His list of credits would take too many pages to cover here but is easily available on many platforms.\u00a0 As for his <\/span>Friendlytown<\/span><\/i> album, we can only say that the octogenarian is still performing like a well tuned piano.\u00a0 Even before I had a chance to listen to the album, Grant Britt\u2019s review in the Fall 2024 <\/span>Blues Blast Magazine<\/span><\/i> caught my eye.\u00a0 Grant said, \u201cAs good as it sounded in the studio, if he can somehow manager to get these guys on the road, between Queen, Top, and MGs worshipers as well as the new converts this stuff\u2019ll bring in, he\u2019ll get so many fans it\u2019ll take a stadium to hold \u2018em.\u201d\u00a0 While the album features some interesting cameos (Felix Cavaliere (The\u00a0 Young Rascals) on organ and Simon Kirke (Bad Company) on drums), Gibbons appears on ten of the 13 tracks and Roger C. Reale provides all the vocals.\u00a0 With CD on hand and (finally) time to do a proper listen, here is a quick breakdown of the <\/span>Friendly Town <\/span><\/i>tracks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The title track of <\/span>Friendlytown <\/span><\/i>has an easy groove and Cropper is right – there is no way to not tap your toes.\u00a0 It is also impossible to not hear Gibbons signature tone in the rhythm guitar parts with Cropper taking the vocal answering riffs.\u00a0 <\/span>Too Much Stress <\/span><\/i>(with Brian May doing the second verse and outro and lead guitar solo) offers up a nice shuffle beat that certainly doesn\u2019t sound stressful.\u00a0 Could that be Gibbons slide guitar work?\u00a0 If the beat in <\/span>Hurry Up Sundown <\/span><\/i>doesn\u2019t conjure up Bo Diddley\u2019s famous beat, then you have never heard Diddley play.\u00a0 Cavaliere adds his deft organ playing to this track which he co-wrote with Cropper.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s Get Started <\/span><\/i>displays Coppers solid rhythm guitar skills with Billy F. adding the moving riffs.<\/span>\u00a0 Talkin\u2019 bout Politics <\/span><\/i>has a serious tone with Steve and Billy F. trading guitar parts throughout.\u00a0 This could be a new millennium\u2019s <\/span>Politician <\/span><\/i>that I dare say the late Cream vocalist\/bass player Jack Bruce would have loved to sing.\u00a0 <\/span>I\u2019ll Take Tomorrow <\/span><\/i>features Eddie Gore\u2019s keyboard work with Cropper taking all the guitar parts.\u00a0 A slow blues burner with unhurried, tasty guitar filling in all the right places between the vocals.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>The Billy F. rhythm train drives <\/span>Lay It On Down <\/span><\/i>with Steve taking the solos and fills.\u00a0 We should note Cropper\u2019s co-producer on the album, Jon Tiven, also adds fine bass work to all the tracks.\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0You Can\u2019t Refuse (with Tim Montana) <\/span><\/i>rumbles out of the gate with Kirke on drums and Montana providing lead guitar duties on one of the two Gibbons-less tracks. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>A dreamy sounding track, <\/span>Rain On My Parade <\/span><\/i>gives Billy F. the lead guitar slot with Steve holding down the rhythm.\u00a0 None of <\/span>Friendlytown\u2019s<\/span><\/i> tracks extend much beyond three to four minutes proving a guitar player doesn\u2019t have to blow notes past you for ten minutes to show you how much skill they have.\u00a0 Both Billy F. and Steve epitomize the \u2018you can say more with less notes and more feel\u2019 school of guitar.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Th<\/span><\/i>e<\/span>re\u2019s Always a Catch <\/span><\/i>reminds us that Cropper has played on more than a few funky, soul tinged records. Funky rhythm guitar on this track is held down by Steve with Billy F. taking the solo.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>Steve riffs and Billy F. provides rhythm on <\/span>In God We Trust.\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>Drummer Nioshi Jackson is solid throughout the album and subscribes to the drummer’s version of \u2018less speed, more feel\u2019 school of playing.\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0\u00a0Reality Check <\/span><\/i>features Cropper\u2019s lead rhythm guitar with Gibbons taking the solo.\u00a0 I am not sure how I missed Reale\u2019s previous work with Rue Morgue but he is a talented vocalist whom I am going to have to look into.<\/span>\u00a0 I Leave You In Peace <\/span><\/i>is not only the closing track\u2019s title but also the vibe Cropper\u2019s smooth guitar lines leaves you with.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0All in both are well constructed albums and I am sure the more I listen, the more pleasant surprises I will find.\u00a0 Congrats to Jim on an \u2018A+\u2019 effort.\u00a0 Thank you. Gary, for sending along <\/span>Just Deserts.\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>Thanks also to Steve Cropper, Billy F. Gibbons and the rest of the Midnight Hour crew for providing a soulful guitar driven album that doesn\u2019t make me want to skip to the next track half way (or less) through the songs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Top Piece Video – Steve Cropper performs with Conan’s band in 2011 – a track from Dedicated<\/em>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Our good friend Gary Tanin at Daystorm Music in Milwaukee recently sent along Jim Eannelli\u2019s first solo album Just Deserts which was released in both digital and physical formats on September 27, 2024. \u00a0 Yours truly was visiting Eugene, Oregon in late August to catch John Fogerty\u2019s 56th Anniversary Celebration concert when the Just Deserts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,8,6,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bands-musicians","category-from-the-vaults","category-new-music","category-woas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3312"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3312\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3316,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3312\/revisions\/3316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}