This cd is great top to bottom. He really mixes up different funk styles, no two songs sound alike. He can play all the instruments, but also has a lot of great guest appearances, too. Not the best singer in the world, but this cd is too greasy not to have. PICK IT UP!
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Down With The Ship is the first solo effort by guitarist John Hickey, who spends most of his time touring with Bernie Worrell & the Woo Worriers plus George Clinton & the P-Funk All-stars. The CD contains twelve tracks, two of which are instrumentals including the title. The CD opens with The Means of Production containing heavy guitars, great drumming and a classic P-Funk foundation. The title track Down With The Ship is a funky electronic instrumental jam from beginning to end. Rub & Tug begins with a nice instrumental groove which is accompanied by smooth vocals. The track also included P-Funk keyboard legend Bernie Worrell. See An N is more upbeat laden with heavy bass and smooth vocals. The track Lost is moody and gives you a sense of the space age. Know Me Better is more of a heavy rock sound and is more related to the early days of Funkadelic. On the Water is the second instrumental which is a nice slow groove with a guitar intro. A vocal introduction begins the selection Dead Beat and Brokedown is an 8 minute P-Funk jam. Pot Top has a more folksy bluesy feel while Only Time is more psychedelic. Down With The Ship is a must for any P-funk fan or a fan of the funk of any kind. John Hickey has created his own style of the funk and is keeping it alive.
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Woo Warrior John Hickey makes his mark and delivers one of the best releases of the year. Up until last spring I had never even heard of this master multi-instrumentalist/performer. I then caught the Bernie Worrell set that May in Atlanta and was literally mesmerized by the front man, whose lead guitar not only blazed thru several P-funk classic like Red Hot Momma and Cosmic Slop, his flavorful vocal chops cut to the ear hole. 

Hickey is joined on this diversified set by the Woo Warriors for the most part, with plenty of guest’s spots from keyboardists Greg Fitz and the master Bernie Worrell. But its Hickey who is firmly in control here. He very confidently builds up some addictive pop/funk steam on all of the tracks. I especially love how he goes back to the solid foot on the first cut, reminds me of classic Parliament. 

Hickey’ s lead and rhythm guitars flow freely with Bernie’s spacey synch. Heavy bass synth licks over majestic colorful arrangements that throb with life and fire. All kinds of sounds and effects come up in the polyrhythmic mix, of course Bernie pulling notes out of thin air. What I find is a delightfully playful intermingling of blues, rockabilly, hard funk, rock, classical, ballads. 

Songwriting as well as vocal prowess shows on all the cuts, really top-notch production makes the sound here very alive and crisp. Seems like all the musicians on here are just wide open and free form in the studio, they capture a live element of performance on this cd. Hickey will just scorch a wicked solo at will and feels the groove. 

The energy this cat plays with is beyond belief. Like a modern day Ernie Isley, he just gets down in the frame and latticework of the song and illuminates everyone around him to a higher energy level. . Bernie Worrell’s preposterous bass synth and clavinet squiggle often accompanies these moments of shredded guitar bliss. It takes a tremendous spunk and courage to go “Down with the Ship”.
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"John Hickey's CD "Down With The Ship" is an amazing CD that blends modern-day funk, rock and R&B. John is a great multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. His guitar shines on this CD. When you have living legends such as Bernie Worrell and Greg Fitz amongst others want to play on your record, you know John Hickey has the musical chops."
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