The soul-lacious Johnson brothers have both died within a week of each other. Jimmy died on January 31, 2022 and Syl died on February 6, 2022. Jimmy died at the age of 93, whilst Syl died at the age of 89. While Syl was going through a hard time in the late 70s and in the precipice of his “retirement” from music, Jimmy was still trucking on as a blues man. Jimmy had worked with legendary blues artists including Otis Clay, Denise LaSalle, Garland Green, BB King, Albert King, Freddie King, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush and Magic Sam. 7 of those 9 artists are from Mississippi by the way. From 1977 to 2019 he released 12 albums as a solo artist.
Look beyond the jokey title on the first record co-billed to brothers Syl and Jimmy Johnson & concentrate on the music, which happens to be an easy, effortless fusion of Jimmy's modern Chicago blues and Syl's bluesy soul. Both brothers let the other breathe, giving them space to stretch out instrumentally, as well as deliver easy, soulful vocals. They smartly rely on their own material throughout most of the album, both new and old (a nice revival of Syl's classic "Is It Because I'm Black," for instance). The production, like many contemporary blues albums, relies on cleanliness and precision. The Performances, which are warm, friendly, and engaging, filled with brotherly love. Syl recorded 18 albums whilst Jimmy recorded 19 in Total..and a multitude of singles between them...What incredible talent these guys possessed & missed by music lovers the world over.
AMM
**********REQUEST**********
The Taster!
Tracks Below (FLAC)
15 comments:
Thanks AMM for posting more Syl Reb
Thanks for this share
Many thanks for the Johnson brothers amm, nice review!
Thanks AMM. Two by Sly IS better - hopefully more.
Many thanks AMM for the review.
Thanks for the review. I've come across this album before, but never actually heard it. I was a bit fed up with contemporary blues for a period, so I never bothered to listen to this album. Now I will definetely give it a chance.
/Jumpstart
Great Review Thank you AMM
i liked very much Jimmys much cooler than Syl thank you AMM!
Grat title, hopefully a great record, too. Thanks for review, P.
Thanks for the review AMM never knew Syl Johnson has a brother
looking forward to it
Not seen this before.
AS they say two Johnson's are better than one i have listen to this years ago but but now its in the flesh Great Review All Music Man
Cheers Pedro
Thanks for this wonderful upgrade and background information on the two brothers. It looks like most of the great artists are from the Mississippi area. One of my all time greats, Eddie Kendricks also hail from the Mississippi region. Good Post AMM!!
Great writeup. Very soulful, bluesy taster. Had not heard this before but looking forward to hearing more of this release!
Great information on the Johnson brothers. I remember listening to "Is it because I am black". Thank you AMM for this great post.
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