COLIN JOHN BAND WITH SPECIAL GUEST MICHAEL HILL: Acousticland Lady

Colin John Band with Special Guest Michael Hill

Acousticland Lady

© 2003 WMF Records (format: CD-R)

CD IN STOCK. ORDER NOW. Will ship immediately.

Acoustic blues-based guitar music that respects the past while looking towards the future.

notes

Many artists make good and often killer blues records, either choosing to record in a modern electric style or in a traditional acoustic style. I wanted to record a blues-based album utilizing acoustic instruments played both traditionally and with an electric intensity. The acoustic guitar has for centuries alluded to the ideal woman; resplendent with soft shoulders, sensual curves, and when she's handled properly, the most glorious sounds emanate. This is the Acousticland Lady.



Along with my bandmates, the friendly and funky Steve Calabria on bass, and the sturdy and steady Scott Turner on drums and percussion, I wanted my friend and colossal talent Michael Hill, to guest with us on this project. Michael is one of the most refreshing bluesmen working today, and he plays with such originality and conviction that I knew I wanted to record with him someday.



We believe that it's necessary to simultaneously respect the past while looking towards the future when making music. We hope you enjoy this album. We surely enjoyed making it. Thanks for looking and listening!

Colin John (2003)



Hear the believers:



"Two great guitarists, one fantastic album"

Paul Jones, BBC Radio, U.K.



"Passionate, uplifting, superb, and awe-inspiring"

Ashwyn Smith, Phoenix FM, Essex U.K.



"Ferociously entertaining"

Mojo Magazine, London U.K.



Please check our other reviews at:



www.cdbaby.com/colinjohn



For more information about The Colin John Band, go to:



www.colinjohnband.com



For more info about Michael Hill, go to:



www.michaelhillsbluesmob.com



Thanks and Peace, Love and Bluespower!

reviews

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  • happy
    author: Your Night Mare rides again

    hmmmmm ... nice snapper pal ... mother the bomb has already dropped ...

  • author: Steve Byrne

    The Colin John Band Acousticland Lady (WMF) BY STEVE BYRNE: The Colin John Band certainly didn't need to recruit a heavy hitter like Michael Hill to make a terrific blues album. The Akron trio proved it could do it alone with 2002's Groove Yard Devils, with John's ferocious guitar wrangling and soulful vocals leading the way. But who can complain? Hill, a New Yorker who still fronts Michael Hill's Blues Mob, collaborated with John last year at a festival in France. The pair wondered if they would be as simpatico on record as they were informally. Yes, indeed. Acousticland Lady, as the title would lead you to suspect, is an exercise in country blues. Yet the approach John and Hill took to the disc's five original compositions and covers like Sonny Boy Williamson's "Eyesight to the Blind" and Robert Johnson's "32-20 Blues" produced a sound heavy enough to keep lovers of urban blues happy too. Two superb axmen are better than one. clevescene.com | originally published: May 5, 2004

  • Interesting blend of traditional Blues and contemporary lyrics
    author: Greg Taylor, UK

    I liked the blend of traditional acoustic Blues playing and comtemporary themes and lyrics. The material could equally have justified a more electric treatment, but it works all the better for not going down that road. The opening number sets the standard with a humourous take on the serious modern day problem of living beyond ones means. "Whipping Post" looks at the subject from the other side in a more traditional vein. Brilliant album.

  • Acousticland Lady-A great artistic intention!
    author: David Stoeckel

    "Acousticland Lady". Great title! A great artistic intention also underlies this CD from The Colin John Band. "Acousticland Lady is an untraditional traditional release meaning that we pay homage to the past whilst looking towards the future. We play acoustic blues on old instruments (National, Gibson, Regal, and Martin guitars) but with an electric intensity." CJ Do they deliver? You bet they do. This is how I like my blues. Acoustic, with one foot planted in the "traditional" past while the other foot is planted in "progressive" future. Colin John gives you fresh and charged renditions of blues standards by Robert Johnson, Pops Staples and Sony Boy Williamson. Colin John not only plants one foot firmly in the "here and now" but he does it with tongue firmly planted in cheek. Take track 3's O.I.L. A great rhythm and blues number and also a great satire on the dilemma facing the west at the present time. "We can free people near and far but there'd be no one to start my car ...without the oil! People talk about democracy for the folks in the middle east ... but its the oil! Got to, got to have the oil! If the arabs say no it'll mess up the flow! ... got to have oil!" The past and present get mischievously mixed in track 4's "Son's House". Now careful here Colin. You are treading on hallowed ground. Son House is one of the founding fathers of the blues and he just happens to be one of my favourites. The track opens with Son telling us like it is ... "The blues is not a plaything! The youngsters today, they take anything and make the blues out of it! There is only one kind of blues ..." SH but the great Son's message gets drowned out by some improvising on a slide guitar. It's a youngster messin' with the blues! Is Colin making fun of Son? ( and causing Muddy to roll over in his grave! ..."don't you mock that man! When I was a boy that man was king. KING! Don't you go mocking him now!" ). Fear not blues brethren! There is no mocking going down here but rather a respectful homage. A homage that continues into track 5's "Down in Mississippi". I got a great charge from the exuberance of this CD. Great title. Great cover. Great guitars. Great vocals and lyrically stimulating as well! ... I know, you are probably thinking that I have over used the word "great" in this review. Correct!. It's just my attempt to impart the enthusiatim that I have for this CD. Get along to www.cdbaby.com and get yourself a copy. David Stoeckel

  • THIS GUYS...WOW
    author: JORGE MARTINS

    A SUPER BLUES ACCOUSTIC CD WITH TWO MASTERS IN GUITAR,NO NEED MORE INTRUDUCTION...JUST LISTEN

  • very cool !!!
    author: atsushi

    wonderful acoustic blues rock ! very cool !!!

  • author: The Cleveland Free Times

    Anyone pining for smoky, 100-proof acoustic blues will find Acousticland Lady a terrific release to start the year off. New York guitarist Michael Hill may be known only to readers of guitar magazines, but his singing on such cuts as the politically charged "O.I.L.," coupled with his intense high-tech soloing and slide playing almost leaves Colin John eating his six-string dust. Fortunately, Hill's performance also pushes John to new heights on this release too. John kicks it old school with a metal-bodied Dobro guitar on "Son's House," a tribute to Mississippi Blues legend Son House, and adds a choice selection of covers, including Sonny Boy Williamson's "Eyesight to the Blind" and the Robert Johnson shuffle "32-20 Blues." But the centerpiece of Acousticland Lady is the magnificent cover of Pops Staples' "Down in Mississippi." Clocking in at 7:39, it's almost too short and John sings as if he was raised on Mississippi mud, while he and Hill magically pull stunning blues licks out of thin air. It's worth the price of admission alone. Mario Becerra

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