Texas Johnny Brown - Nothin' But the Truth (1997)

> The album

Texas Brown, Texas groove

Tough based in Houston and considered as a Texas blues musician, as his nickname claims, John Reilly or Riley (like B.B. King !) Brown was born in 1928 in Mississippi. He moved to his father in Louisiana in 1937. At that time, according to Brown, his father, who was a blind street singer and acoustic guitarist, had a guide dog that played guitar too ! His father was holding the guitar on his knee and make the chords while the dog pawed the strings. Johnny was accompanying them on tambourine and vocals, and later on guitar... Father, son and dog rambled from town to town, playing street corners and small clubs for tips. Finally in 1946 Brown moved to Houston where he really began his professional career.

Amos Milburn ►

In particular, he played and toured with Amos Milburn and his Aladdin Chicken Shackers band, with Junior Parker, Ruth Brown (another Brown !), and Bobby "Blue" Bland for whom he wrote the hit "Two Steps From The Blues" (featured in a new version on this album), and as a session musician for Houston's Duke/Peacock record label working with people like Wayne Bennett, Joe Hinton, Buddy Ace or Clarence Hollimon...
In 1970 Johnny packed up his guitar to take care of his family, working "normal" jobs, and playing only occasionally. In 1991, once his kids grown, he finally fell back to the call of his guitar. For a couple of years he played with old friends like the excellent Joe "Guitar" Hughes, like Grady Gaines, Trudy Lynn, Teddy "Cry Cry" Reynolds...

In 1993 Johnny set up his own group, The Quality Blues Band, and by 1995 they started to record some of the tracks featured on this first album. These recording sessions, interrupted by tours (including in Europe) and festival performances, extended for over two years cursed by two successive defections : his old friend keyboardist Teddy Reynolds left due to health problems, then Charles Rhinehart, who had taken his place, died unexpectedly, finally replaced by Alvin King.
Finally the album was ready to be released and it was, in 1998 by Choctaw Creek Records. Brown was then 70,  but the result is full of the energy of a younger man. A great album proving that talent is like good wine, it's getting better and better with age.

Yet, when the first track, "Cheatin' and Stealin'", started, I got skeptical. A name immediately crossed my mind : Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown ! Same name, same kind of jumping swing, same kind of horn riffs, same kind of guitar sound ! I really love "Gatemouth" and I thought "that Brown's gonna have a hard time doing as well !" Fortunately the next track, "There Goes the Blues" and its followers, broomed off my reservation : I discovered a man with his own musical identity, and a rich one too. Fortunately because a "Gatemouth" copycat would have caused an annoying deja-vu feeling. There's only one "Gatemouth" !

Anyway, it must be difficult for a musician who's been a sideman for so long to come out with something original and not a collection of imitations of one's former leaders. The nice surprise is that Brown's first album shows his multi-faceted creative and imaginative musical talent as a song writer, composer, arranger, singer and, of course, excellent guitar player. He doesn't imitate, he creates ! As a band leader he has a gift to make the best of his sidemen, especially his successive keyboardists, despite the misfortunes that perturbed the sessions.
Brown, who cited jazz guitarist Charlie Christian as an influence, plays a quite liquid guitar style, and sings with a warm soul voice that must have seduced a whole lot of women ! The album features :

- brassy numbers like the jumpy above-mentioned "Cheatin' and Stealin'" and the horn-driven "Your House, Your Home",
- great moving blues like the wonderful "There Goes The Blues", like "Strange Situation", and the final rolling "Nothin' but the Truth, so Help Me John",
- the excellent swinging rhythm and blues "No Part-Time Lover" backed by killing horn and rhythm guitar riffs, one of the high-light of the album in my opinion,
- romantic soul slows like "Tender age, Gentle Woman", "Stand the Pain" (even featuring a flute-like part), "Two Steps From the Blues" (specially re-cut for the album), "Blue and Lonesome", the magnificent melodic ballad "Once Was" and the no less magnificent guitar-led instrumental version of Aretha Franklin’s "Ain't no Way".

All of these, written by Brown except "Ain't no Way", are standing on a groovy bass-drums rhythm section, and are masterly arranged, with excellent groovy rhythm guitar and gliding solos by Brown, great keyboard work (piano and especially magnificent organ lines) and effective R'n'B horns backing. As a first album, it was a master-strike, rightly honored by a nomination as Comeback Album of the Year at the 1999 W.C. Handy Blues Award.

Brown put out a second and last album in 2001 : the equally tasty and swinging "Blues Defender". He died from a double cancer twelve years later at the age of 85. Why do bluesmen have to get old and sick ?! 😢 ■

Videos
Unfortunately many of the videos found on YT are rather poor quality, image and/or sound, and do not make justice to TJB's talent…

► Promo clip with the Quality Blues Band (William Hollis on keyboards,  Larry Evans on bass and Kerry "KC" Cartwright on drums) around 2009 : https://youtu.be/jmb_9auTylI
► Celebrating his 85th birthday at The Big Easy Club in Houston in February 2013, just a few months before his death : https://youtu.be/TArsobPz3DE
► At the "Blues on the Hill" Fest in 2012 (?) :
→ Pt 1 : https://youtu.be/OL_zENl_HyM
→ Pt 2 : https://youtu.be/8wrSfJpUNfI
► At The Big Easy in Houston in 2012 : https://youtu.be/MNCzEyDPLvg
► A "guitar montage" of TJB from 2011 : https://youtu.be/PidR4_01vZQ

► At the Houston Blues Society show at Discovery Green, Houston, in 2011 : https://youtu.be/zIBdSMaVFJI
► At The Big Easy in 2010 :
→  with William Hollis on keyboards : https://youtu.be/hc8kaU-fQeI
→  with Bobby Mack (Jimmy Pate on drums, Larry Evans on bass) :
- https://youtu.be/pzYS45crctI
- https://youtu.be/i9E6X3uurbY
► Jam at The Big Easy with young Eric Hoovestol : https://youtu.be/O91HyiAA2JE

► At the Blues on the Hill festival in Harlingen, TX, in 2010 : https://youtu.be/0XBVvzCJVKA
► At "Blues To Bop" in Lugano (Italy) in 2009 (with William Hollis on keyboards, Larry Evans on bass and Kerry "KC" Cartwright on drums) : https://youtu.be/aD3zJdV3e2M
► At The Big Easy (unknown date) : https://youtu.be/YKfKhnB8F90
► At a Dallas Blues Society show in 1992 : https://youtu.be/FibWGtJtQPg

__________________________________________________________________