Reviews
Highway Bound
"Lloyd has been a good friend of mine for over 30 years and he has always been a great guitar player-.great tone and phrasing from the heart"
- Charlie Musselwhite.
Love Gotcha (1999)
All Music Guide (March, 2000)
Lloyd Jones describes his soulful and intelligent fusion of funk, blues, and R&B as "storytelling with a Memphis groove." Chapters of his musical novel in progress include "Fools Gold," "Treat Me Like the Dog I Am," "Shake ‘em Up," "Big Ol’ Shirt" and "Ain’t Nothing a Young Girl Can Do.
This is Jones' best album to date. The blues/R&B veteran is in top form – his guitar playing is incisive and efficient, and his singing is terrific. His songwriting, however, is probably the most impressive thing about Love Gotcha. Working with a solid group of sidemen, it seems like everything is within his grasp. A slow Chicago blues like "Old News" simmers admirably, flavored by a perfectly measured guitar solo, while the title track, another Jones original, is driving, funky R&B powered by a slick horn arrangement. Jones turns the old Brownie McGhee/Sonny Terry tune "Ride and Roll" into a swinging R&B blockbuster, and he throws down an equally potent interpretation of the classic blues number "Hurtin' House," which features a very tasty tenor sax solo from Renato Caranto. No matter how you look at it, this album shapes up as an outstanding project.
– Philip Van Vleck
Jazz Times (March, 2000)
Another consummate guitarist-singer-songwriter is Lloyd Jones, who puts it all together in fine fashion on Love Gotcha (Blind Pig 5057; 42:49). A raspy-voiced soul man with an impeccable sense of time and a killer instinct on guitar, Lloyd swings and wails on driving shuffles like "I Declare" and "Treat Me Like the Dog I Am." He rocks with authority on the revved-up "Fools Gold" and the Sonny Terry-Brownie McGhee vehicle "Ride and Roll," featuring husky vocal backing from Terry Evans. Jones pays a fitting homage to funk icon James Brown on "Nickels and Dimes" and smolders on an infectious Memphis-styled groove on the title track. Guitaristically, he passes the slow blues test on "Old News" and picks out some Piedmont stylings on the unaccompanied "Big Ol' Shirt." This talented journeyman has been carrying the blues torch since the early '70s and is well deserving of wider recognition.
Blues Revue (March 2000)
Singer/songwriter/guitarist Lloyd Jones is back with a new album and a new label. His last release, 1995's brilliant Trouble Monkey (AudioQuest), is one of the best albums of the '90s. Though this one doesn't grab as fast and as hard as Trouble Monkey, it's a worthy successor. Love Gotcha features intelligent songwriting and tight, energetic ensemble work by his band, The Struggle.
Nine of the tunes are originals that run the gamut from sinewy funk to rockin' blues to Southern soul. A funky lament for crime victims, the hard-hitting "Nickels and Dimes," opens the album with acerbic commentary. Most of the remaining songs deal with the perils of modern romance. Among my favorites are the tide track, a Southern soul shuffle a la Arthur Conley and his mentor, Otis Redding; the Delta slide rockabilly rampage "Fool's Gold"; and the blistering double entendre blues-rocker "Highway Rider."
Three lesser-known covers fill the middle of the album. Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee's "Ride and Roll" is Chuck Berry in overdrive, while Don Covay's lilting "Ain't Nothing a Young Girl Can Do (Except Show Me Where an Older Woman Lives)" is sound advice for men approaching middle age. The obscure funk-burner "Hurtin' House" rounds out the covers.
The only tune that seems out of place is the whimsical acoustic blues "Big Ol' Shirt." It's not bad, but it's better suited for an album by Steve James or Ball & Sultan. (A shirt company could easily use it as a soundtrack for a commercial.) Jones' uncannily Delbert McClinton-like vocals are supported by his stinging guitar work, which blends Albert Collins and B.B. King. For fans of Jones' Oregon counterparts Robert Cray and Curtis Salgado, and for those who enjoyed Trouble Monkey, this is an essential purchase. Anyone looking for an album of well-crafted roots music performed with soulful finesse and featuring intelligent originals should check out Love Gotcha, too.
– Thomas J. Cullen III
Vintage Guitar (February 2000)
Oh man, I love this guy. In '95, Jones put out a wonderful CD called Trouble Monkey that featured his wonderfully smokey vocals and killer guitar on a number of tunes ranging from shuffles to funk. This CD repeats the formula, and it cooks.
"Nickels and Dimes" with its great lyrics, very funky music, and monster solo by Jones, kicks things off. His biting Strat tone meshes perfectly with a vocal that calls to mind Delbert McClinton. Great stuff. And it never lets up. From the shuffle of "I Declare", to the R&B funkiness of the title cut, to the southern soul of "Ain't Nothing A Young Girl Can Do", to the slow blues of "Old News," Jones' singing and guitar playing set a standard any band could hold up as a goal to hit.
The band cooks all the way through.There is no let up. They're based in the Portland area, so if they pass through your way, catch 'em. Lloyd is one of the real shining lights of the R&B scene.
– JH
Trouble Monkey (1999)
"The best damn album I've heard in a long time!" - Robert Cray
"'Trouble Monkey,' written by Jones, is a real ear-catcher – vocals rank well above the usual." - Music City Blues Letter, Memphis, TN
"Jones' guitar style has a natural toughness and a funky edge." – Roberta Penn, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"Lloyd Jones brings a compelling mix of blues and funk to his new release. Jones has a husky voice suggestive of Delbert McClinton and, as a guitarist, occasionally suggests Guitar Slim with his slashing string popping." - Jazz and Blues, Cleveland, OH
"Trouble Monkey is no copy cat; it's Jones being Jones - and being very good at it." - Marty Hughley, The Oregonian
"This funky disc is flawless from beginning to end." - Baltimore Blues Society
Blues Revue (June/July, 1996)
Although Lloyd Jones has developed a considerable following in the Pacific Northwest and California the last ten years, as a consummate singer/ song writer/ guitarist/ band leader, national recognition and its attendant success has eluded him. None the less, Trouble Monkey is not only one of the finest and funkiest albums of 1995, it is one of the best albums of the 1990s. The album's intelligent and soulful mix of original blues, funk, and R&B is unlike any bluesy hybrid you're likely to hear.
Jones has been honing his craft since the 1970s and this album fulfills the promise of his earlier albums (especially the variegated Small Potatoes from 1988 on Criminal Records, which Trouble Monkey most resembles.) Congo-laden, horn-propelled tunes like "Can't Get You Off My Mind" with its shuffle-bump rhythm, the defiant "(Just About To) Bust Up A Love" and the funky, funky title cut (a metaphor for a troublesome lover) sound like mid-'70s Tower of Power and tunes like "What is Hip?" and "Get Yo' Feet Back on the Ground". The plaintive ballad "I Broke My Baby's Heart" recalls Percy Sledge, Otis Redding and James Carr.
There are three covers: Fats Domino's rollicking "Rosemary", Larry Pindar's shuffling, jazz-tinged "Old Friends" (a perfect blues "Auld Lang Syne"), and an impromptu version of Sleepy John Estes's "Drop Down Marna" with just guitar and drums.
Jones's crisp, biting, economical leads never stray far from the blues and tastefully complement each style on this remarkable album. The biggest surprise is his uncanny Delbert McClinton-like vocals. To my ears, Jones normally sounds like a cross between Robert Cray, the East Coast King of Blue-Eyed Soul, Pittsburgh's Billy Price, and the honky-tonkin' Delbert. According to the liner notes, a serious throat and ear infection and the subsequent medication to combat it, led to the roadhouse rasp in his voice. Those new to Lloyd Jones won't notice, and it detracts nothing from the album. The cookin' eight-piece backing band and guest backing vocalists Terry Evans and Ray Williams contribute mightily to Trouble Monkey's considerable musical charms. Ideally, this exciting album will propel Lloyd Jones into the national spotlight and a tour will follow. He is certainly worthy of greater recognition. Get hip to Trouble Monkey - it's one of the fresher musical trips in recent memory.
– Thomas J. Cullen III
Vintage Guitar (1996)
The first lesson to learn from this CD is that looks can be deceiving. Jones' picture on the cover looks like the guy next door, with a Strat across his shoulder. But the music inside is tough, but not in the shuffle style that seems to dominate blues bands these days. Jones sings like Delbert McClinton's long-lost brother, plays guitar like Robert Cray unleashed, and his band cooks.
Jones has apparently been a fixture in the Pacific Northwest where a young Cray became an admirer. It's not hard to see why. Check out the sharp, pinched guitar work on the opener, "Can't Get You Out of My Mind", or the extremely funky rhythm and lead work Jones serves up on the title cut. Jones is no one-trick pony either. Check out the classic soul of "I Broke My Baby's Heart". He offers vocals that would make Sam and Dave smile and guitar work Steve Cropper would be proud of.
My favorite cut is "Old Friends". A nice, swinging blues with a great horn arrangement, killer organ work by Glenn Holstrom, nifty guitar soloing by Jones, topped off with vocals that are as gritty as a dirt road and smooth as melting butter.
There are plenty of killer cuts. "Don't Call Me Today" features great vocals and some nice funky guitar work. Same for "Drop Down Mama."
It's truly astonishing because it was basically recorded live in the studio in just two days! Wow! This would definitely be a band to see if they came to your town. And, this is definitely a CD to find. Get this great CD now.
– JH