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1/26/2013, 1:24 PM
cd review on HOWL AT THE MOON -John Pippus Band -earshot magazine
http://www.earshot-online.com/reviews/DisplayReview.cfm?DiscID=132321 By Reviewer Shelley Gummeson John Pippus Howl At The Moon Self-Released ‘I could have sworn I was at a John Pippus concert, but when I opened my eyes I was in my living room listening to Howl At The Moon on the stereo.’ John Pippus has released his fourth full-length album called Howl At The Moon. The album sounds live and it has an undercurrent of immediacy to it. The guitar is in your face, and Pippus’ voice is ragged but controlled. He sounds like he’s been up all night drinkin’, thinkin’ and writin’. It sounds real. John Pippus is an artist you can’t put into a box. He’s an unpredictable and gifted songwriter, who crafts words that sends us on a journey, his or our own. The songs on the album are not co-dependent and each can stand on their own merit. In “Those Five Days” when he sings, “We were livin’ on downers, cheap red wine…” you believe that he did in fact live five, fuzzed-out lost days and has survived to sing about it. His words and voice are so weary and pain-addled in “Mean Hearted Women” you’re sure some cheating woman has left tire tracks on his heart and left him for dead in a cloud of blue smoke. But there is a lot more on this album, like the folky sweetness in “Buy You Anything” a song he co-wrote with Lucy LeBlanc, and the rock vibe of “I’m Mad”. He even brings us back to the roots of Chicago blues with the Willie Dixon tune “The Same Thing”. The album has 12 songs on it. Track 11 “This Is Our Time,” could have easily closed out the album as far as the progression of the songs go. But Pippus takes it up another notch by ending with the rather dramatic “Weapons Of Emotion (Open)”. He’s making sure he wrings everything out of his listening audience and himself. The John Pippus Band is John Pippus on guitars, harmonica, and vocals, Tony Kerr on bass and Jacob Pippus on drums. The trio plays together with an uninhibited fierceness that demonstrates they’re all in. This is the album I’ve been waiting to hear from John Pippus. Howl At The Moon takes you on a trip of words, emotion, and sound. Hang on; it’s a helluva ride. By Shelley Gummeson Jan 27, 2013
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1/27/2013, 9:46 AM
What an engagin' review... Great to hear John receivin' recognition for his stellar "Howlin' at the Moon" CD. Way to go, John, kudos.