This is the first full-length release from piano player/singer John "JT" Thompson. A completely solo effort, he mixes Old-School Blues & Boogie-Woogie with contemporary style and sensibilities.
~ The first tune, "Pat's Cafe", is a brief instrumental homage to the barrelhouse and boogie-woogie masters that influence so much of JT's playing. And, it's played on the piano that graces the album cover - the very one JT learned to play on.
~ "Chase Away Your Blues" is an uptempo romp that does just what it promises - makes us forget about all the bad stuff, and feel better about life.
~ "The Boss Told Me" is a one-chord grind through the travails of modern-day work - it may not be hard labor, but we still get the Blues...
~ The 4th tune, "Sugar Free", is the only cut not written by JT. As he swings through this tune by Dallas TX-based guitarist Paul Byrd, however, you know he knows what he's talking about.
~ Every town has some street where all the action is. New York has Broadway, New Orleans has Bourbon Street, Memphis has Beale Street. In this mid-tempo Ragtime-inspired instrumental, JT tells us about all the action on "High Street," in his hometown of Bellefonte, PA.
~ #6, "Southern Bell," is a bold statement about Love. I think he married that girl...
~ "Chicken Bone," cut #7, is about just being happy with whatever you got.
~ JT tackles the 2010 BP tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico - and our global addiction - in "Cold Firey Lake (Oil In The Water)."
~ "Murphee's Boogie" - another instrumental - gets our toes tapping and takes us home.
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