2017 – West Tone Records
By Phillip Smith;
Feb. 24, 2018
Rockin’
Johnny Burgin has been putting out righteous blues music for at
least twenty years, and his latest release Neoprene
Fedora is no exception. On this sixteen
track record, Burgin further explores the blues, taps into some
California surf guitar, and steps into the world of zydeco for a few
songs. Again, recording at the Greaseland
Studios in San Jose, California, Burgin enlists a super group of
notable musicians to join him: Kid Andersen (guitar/bass/piano), Aki
Kumar (harp/percussion/vocals), Bob Welsh (guitar/piano), Alabama
Mike (vocals), Vance Ehlers (bass), June Core (drums/percussion),
Stephen Dougherty (drums), Nancy Wright (sax.), Steve Willis
(accordion), Billy Wilson (rub board), and Chris Matheos (bass).
Title track, Neoprene
Fedora is one smokin’ cool tune.
This is California surf at its best.
With Nancy Wright on sax, and Kid Andersen joining in on
guitar, the song pretty much soars skyward with its over seven minute
instrumental jam. I love how Burgin’s
cover of “Give Me an Hour in Your Garden” drips with authenticity. Originally recorded by Papa John Creech
on his 1972 album Filthy, Burgin
wails this one with heart and soul as Anderson joins in on piano. Alabama Mike steps in on vocals and Aki
Kumar on harp, as Burgin breaks the funk out on “Smoke and Mirrors”.
This juicy track is soaked in the raw grit of the mid-Seventies, and I dig
every bit of it. Burgin connects
right in to the essence of the average blue-collar worker in “I Ain’t Gonna Be
a Working Man No More”. Featuring a
driving rhythm from Ehlers and Dougherty and the guitar prowess
of the great Bob Welsh, the song buries in deep. With a Smokestack Lightnin riff, Burgin
bids a personal adieu to the Windy City in “Goodbye Chicago” and sets his scope
on the Sunkist State, where he now resides.
It’s a wonderful homage.
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