BIG AL JANO

Some of My Best Friends Have the Blues

2007-08-08

Big Al Jano is a bass player and indie producer. This 24 track collection features 23 different lead singers with Jano’s bass lines being the only common denominator. With tracks dating back to the late 50’s the collection covers a lot of ground. There’s everything from Jano’s own 1987 novelty hit, "The Condom Man", to heavy metal type blues rock, "I Don’t Want to See You Cry Anymore", to southern blues rock, "Through the Rain", to supper club blues, "We’re Only Fooling Ourselves", to Chicago style blues, "Lucille", to jump blues, "Give it Everything We’ve Got" and even hints of New Orleans style funk that recalls Delany and Bonnie, "Oh Linda". While most of the singers here won’t be familiar to the mainstream blues fan (Luther “Houserocker” Johnson being the sole exception) there’s plenty of talent evidenced here. There are a couple of misfires, "I Don’t Want to See You Cry Anymore" the gimmicky "uld Lang Syne Hip Hop"and "isco Disaster Blues Strut"and a track that could have come from the Rocky Horror picture soundtrack, "ilver Grill Blues" but by and large this is far better than the scattered pedigree would lead you to expect. Smitty