Pappy Johns BandBlame It On Monday

Pappy Johns Band - Blame It On Monday

Written by Tim Holek

The Pappy Johns Band is a Fort Erie, Ontario-based group that happened to cleaned house at the 2002 Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards.

Among their honours were Best Male Artist; Best Group/Duo; Best Producer/Engineer and Best Song/Songwriter. The Pappy Johns Band was also a finalist in the Toronto Blues Society's New Talent Search in 2002. And early in 2003, the group was the surprise smash at the Blues Summit Showcases in Toronto.

On their debut CD entitled Blame It On Monday, the band performs a 48-minute mix of two-guitar southern rock, R&B, and soul in addition to blues. Throughout 12 gregarious tunes, including five originals, the mammoth pipes of lead vocalist Faron Johns are at the forefront. His efforts are backed by Lorne Greene and Chris Johns on guitar, Don Powless on bass and Oren Doxtator drums. Ace producer Alec Fraser ensured the band's wide range of styles was properly harnessed.

Among the tunes on this disc, Wishing Princess whacks you with a rock rhythm and it feels good. The title track, by contrast, is slow-paced and has a romantic beat with heartfelt lyrics. Al "Gator" Kroll's sax adds plenty of soul to this sad song (also featured on the Skin Tight Blues - First Peoples' Blues Compilation CD) about the breakup of a relationship.

Where's My Limo is a fun ditty with a funky flow. Here, Greene sings and banters with Powless about becoming a movie star, and living life not quite as expected. The radio-friendly groove of Waiting By The Telephone is hit material. On it, the twin guitars of Greene and Chris Johns create a unique rhythm because they are played in slightly different patterns during the verses. Kroll's zestful sax sounds as if came straight from the late 1970s Saturday Night Live house band.

However, the disc's best number is the instrumental Rezzanation. Here, the band effectively fuses rock and jazz in a manner reminiscent of the Allman Brother's In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.

The remaining musical selections are covers ranging from the rock and boogie of Shame, Shame, Shame to the traditional blues of Key To The Highway. Chris Johns takes over the vocals on Walking By Myself. Though his vocals do not have as much girth as Faron Johns', he does have more of a rocker's voice which is well-suited for this blues-rock song.

The Allman Brothers similarities emerge again on Soul Shine. Though the tune drags a bit, its' inspirational message and upbeat mood successfully overcomes this.

Overall, the band performs decent renditions of previously recorded material. There are a couple of songs, however, namely Some Kind Of Wonderful and Lenny, that do not add value. Given the superiority of the band's own compositions, it could be argued this disc contains too many covers. Strangely, the writing credits for these covers are missing from the liner notes.

There isn't a ton of blues on Blame It On Monday, but that allows the CD to appeal to listeners with many musical tastes. And believe it or not, Faron John's voice is even more omnipotent when you hear the band perform live.

Given the guitar prowess exhibited on this CD, and considering the power of the original material, you need to watch out for these guys. With a pile of CAMAs under their belts, surely Maple Blues Awards and Junos will be next.

Copyright 2003. Review by Tim Holek.

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