Republished courtesy of Blues Blast magazine

Ruf Records

Order now at jeremiahjohnsonband.com

10 Tracks, 42 minutes

With each new album, St. Louis-born blues rocker, Jeremiah Johnson just keeps getting better. His 2018 album, Straitjacket, was nominated for Rock Blues Album of the Year by Blues Blast Magazine, as was his album Unemployed, Highly Annoyed. His latest release, Hi-Fi Drive By has just earned a nomination for the same award, and it’s not difficult to understand why. Paul Niehaus IV and Tom Maloney produced the album, and Paul Niehaus IV also played bass on the album. In addition to Niehaus and Johnson, there are some other exceptional musicians on the album, including a guest appearance by Victor Wainwright on the fast-rocking opening number, and a guest appearance by Brandon Santini on a song about bad decisions in “Young and Blind”.

The excellent sound mix makes it easy to appreciate the quality of the vocals, with this being especially notable on “Ball and Chain”, which includes the fine backing vocals by Allie Vogler, Mattie Schell, and Emily Wallas. And Johnson’s vocals on “The Squeeze” are so successfully emotive that one almost physically feels his pain.

Johnson also recruited a phenomenal horn section, using two saxophones, a trumpet and a trombone. And surprisingly we hear strings added to the final track, which is a beautiful song about tolerance and unity. “Brother to brother, sister to sister, woman and man. One voice in harmony, united in faith, the circle, the band…cast away the hate and greed and join the band.”

One of the most memorable tracks on the album is “Skippin’ School,” a swinging number with clever lyrics about a man wanting to take the place of a woman’s unappreciative partner. “I know you got a man, but that man, he’s a fool. While you were teaching class, that sucker’s skipping school. I ain’t tryin’ to lie. But don’t you forget. I’m top of the class—honey, I’m the teacher’s pet.”

Johnson is an impressive guitar player, but equally as important, he seems to have a natural ability to perfectly place tasteful solos. He seems to be at the top of his game with this album, and the recent nomination earned by Hi-Fi Drive By is certainly well-deserved.