We Detroiters have a close connection with our Canadian brethren to the south. That’s right, the south. Detroit is the only place where you actually have to go south, across the Detroit River, to get to Canada. Lately a lot of great ‘NorthAmericana‘ has been coming ‘north’ from Canada. The latest to continue this growing tradition is Ottawa’s The John Henry’s. Their sophomore cd was released first in Canada on the excellent True North label, but now is being released in the US on the Linus Entertainment label.
You probably can’t find a better namesake for a hard working band than John Henry. For those of you that don’t know the legend, let me quote from Wikipedia:
“Like other “Big Men” such as Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill, John Henry also served as a mythical representation of a group within the melting pot of the 19th-century working class. In the most popular version of the story, Henry is born into the world big and strong weighing 33 pounds. He grows to become the greatest “steel-driver” in the mid-century push to erect the railroads across the mountains to the West. When the owner of the railroad buys a steam-powered hammer to do the work of his mostly black driving crew, to save his job and the jobs of his men, John Henry challenges the owner to a contest: himself alone versus the steam hammer. John Henry beats the machine, but exhausted, collapses and dies.”
The band is cut from the same mold as AmericanaRoots favorites Band of Heathens, meaning it is made up of a bunch of talented your musicians and songwriters. Like BOH, songwriting duties are handled by four of the band members. Lead vocal duties are also spread around. All this gives the disc a nice mix of sounds right from the opening twangs of the stellar title tune that starts things out. Padawadamie continues the rootsy twangy sound. They also add a bit of lighthearted fun on Ain’t Gonna Drink No More and No More Rock and Roll (although this doesn’t make the band sound like the most fun group to hand out with). Thought Yourself Lucky has some Dick Dale surf guitar sound to it. The band is made up of Rey Sabatin, Jr (guitars/vocals) Steve Tatone (keyboards) Doug Gouthro (Guitar) Daryl Quinlan (Bass), and Geoff Ward (Drums). This is a talented group and I definitely recommend you check out Sweet as the Grain! The band’s website is www.thejohnhenrys.com.
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