The Janeys: Get Down With The Blues Review
The Janeys are the father and son team of Bryce and Billy Lee Janey. While we have reviewed Bryce Janey’s work previously, we have never discussed his father though, who has been playing and recording with various outfits since the early ’70s. Team the two of them up together on Get Down With The Blues and here you get Bryce’s gritty, passionate vocals and first rate guitar work along with his father’s solo guitar work.
A Hendrix cover of the instrumental “Beginnings” which was actually released after Hendrix’s death heavily overdubbed by other musicians in the studio start things off. The only original part of the track was Hendrix’s playing. As a result, it is an often-overlooked Hendrix gem, which is covered very well with the dual guitar attack of Bryce and Billy. After that excellent opener, we get the fast-paced original rocker of “Led Balloon,” followed by a cover of Johnny Winter’s Texas Shuffle “The Good Love.” Next we get the title track “Get Down With The Blues,” which is featured on BRR4 and is a track that showcases what the The Janeys are all about – blues based dual guitar rock that puts both of their talents to work and lets Bryce’s unique voice shine. Two more originals, the love song “The Rose” and the rocking “It’s a Guitar Thing” fill the space until the next cover. “Mind Bender” is a cover of the ’70s Southern Rockers Stillwater and is the story of a trip to a pawnshop where the singer stumbles across a talking guitar. The solo work when the guitar is talking must make use of a talk box effect to carry on the conversation.
We are then treated to an excellent cover of the classic blues “Hoochie Coochie Man.” “When the Devil Comes Out to Play” is a southern rock track that has an underlying rhythm that drives the song along. We finish things out with two more covers, including the instantly recognizable Allman Brothers song “It’s Not My Cross To Bear” from their debut album, which while not the most well known track off of that album is a hidden gem. Then we close things out how we started with an intense cover of Hendrix’s instrumental “Third Stone From the Sun.”
From the covers on this album you can clearly get a sense that The Janeys are old school early blues rock sound in the style of the late ’70s southern rock and Hendrix style. They deliver this sound with a heavy dose of excellent guitar playing and some killer covers mixed with outstanding originals.
The Review: 7.5/10
Can’t Miss Tracks
– Get Down With the Blues
– Led Ballon
– It’s a Guitar Thing
The Big Hit
– It’s a Guitar Thing
Review by Kevin O’Rourke
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