Johnny Sansone - The Lord Is Waiting And The Devil Is Too (2011)

► Get the album at the usual place...

Johnny Sansone's dark swamp blues

Primal tribal beat, growling bear voice, powerful grunting harmonica, backing band reduced to two musicians (producer Anders Osborne on guitar and/or piano, percussion and sound effects, Stanton Moore on drums)… a very personal somber atmosphere enhanced by profound and often revolted lyrics is haunting this superb album, recorded in just a couple of days in June 2010 at Dockside Studio in Maurice, Louisiana.

Sansone & Osborne

Together with New Orleans native Stanton Moore, this minimal band counts two New Orleans “immigrants” : Sansone, originally from New Jersey, adopted New Orleans and was adopted by the Crescent City in 1990, while the Swedish viking musician and producer Anders Osborne has been based in New Orleans since 1985. Both men became friends as members of the Voice of the Wetlands Allstars, a band assembled to draw attention on the erosion and environmental aggression from the oil industry on coastal Louisiana, and Osborne produced two other Sansone's albums to date.

Behind his tall stature, Sansone is hiding a very sensitive personality. A protest singer with lyrics regarding towards poetry, he is also a multi-instrumentalist equally skilled on harmonica, guitar and accordion. Note that Sansone doesn't play any accordion or Cajun music here, though his blues is subtly infused with Cajun and Creole sounds.

This album globally exhales a dark “depressing” feeling first reflected in half the songs titles themselves : “Sinking Ship”, “Down”, “Invisible”, “The Lord Is Waiting The Devil Is Too”, “Without Love”, “Leavin'”… This is clearly not cheerful let-the-good-time-roll dancing music, but moments of deep interrogations about life and future from a man in his fifties whose life is at the beginning of its declining course.

The low and heavy musical atmosphere of the songs, all written by Sansone except the last one, enhanced by Osborne deep sound effects and Moore's pounding drums, translates a feeling of deep gravity, producing a kind of “dark swamp blues” with a blues-infused Southern rock touch, for example on “Sinking Ship”.

Sansone's tortured harmonica is wailing all along the 10 titles while his powerful vocals and words add to the heaviness (like on the solid “Down”). With its voodoo feel, “Invisible” is one of the great moments of the album : hypnotic primary rhythm vs. peaceful harmonica.

On “Johnny And Janie”, “You Know Who” and “Where's Your Heart”, heavy drumming, greasy guitar and Sansone's “dirty” harmonica give the songs echoes of a kind of voodooed Led Zeppelin of the swamps. The powerful ominous title track “The Lord Is Waiting, The Devil Is Too”, and “Without Love”, are in the same gloomy vein.

The album closes with a second instrumental (after “Corn Whiskey”), the melodious but sad country ballad “Leavin'”, signed by Osborne, that doesn't need words to express the pessimistic feeling that flavors the whole album. Not even a note of joy, or at least of hope. In this, it is a real blues album. A great one ! ☺

Live videos... are better than long speeches

► Live versions of some of the album's titles

With Anders Osborne (center)

■ "The Lord is Waiting and the Devil is Too" :

→ Crawfish Festival, Augusta, NJ, 2011, with Anders Osborne on guitar : https://youtu.be/venQJnszeC8

→ Crescent City Blues and BBQ Festival, New Orleans, 2012 : https://youtu.be/mG-SnaspmCs

→ with Royal Southern Brotherhood (Cyril Neville, Mike Zito, Devon Allman, Yonrico Scott and Charlie Wooton), Sellersville, PA, 2012 : https://youtu.be/Zkyg_rqNpDU

→ Blues Music Awards with Tab Benoit & Mike Zito on guitar, 2012 : https://youtu.be/NIDus_rMiFk

→ The Ark Bowl & BBQ, Arkville, NY, 2018 : https://youtu.be/FTv2SP6vLWo

→ Atlanta, GA, 2021 : https://youtu.be/WRKy-GT_F_Y

→ French Quarter Festival, New Orleans, 2022 with John Fohl on guitar : https://youtu.be/gSU0_xxRj4c

With Mike Zito

■ “Invisible”

→ Ruby's Roadhouse, Mandeville, LA, 2012 : https://youtu.be/WiNq0r8lpcM

→ Tampere, Finland, 2016 : https://youtu.be/Zx_gd3lcvxI

→ Paulie's New Orleans Jazz & Blues festival - Worcester, MA, 2013 : https://youtu.be/MRwdXG3p_V4

→ Bogalusa Blues Festival, Bogalusa, LA, 2014 : https://youtu.be/xe_3NuPKz78

■ "Sinking Ship" :

→ Chickie Wah Wah, New Orleans, 2013 : https://youtu.be/Zm6WOAMN1Cc

→ New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, 2012 : https://youtu.be/zgDxucVFaow

■ “You Know Who" with the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Bob Corritore's club The Rhythm Room, Phoenix, AZ, 2010 : https://youtu.be/VnQCGlktcIU

► Live Performances videos

With Tab Benoit

■ With Anders Osborne and John Fohl, Threadhead Patry, New Orleans 2010 :

→ #1 : https://youtu.be/foXz_o3koCg

→ #2 : https://youtu.be/uPXdr-u8-rQ

■ With Tab Benoit, Riverfront Blues Festival in Wilmington, DE, 2011 :

→ https://youtu.be/hwRr0mprmm8

→ "We Make a Good Gumbo" : https://youtu.be/LDycBoktwyk

■ Ruby's Roadhouse, Mandeville, LA, 2012 :

→ “Eyesight to the Blind" : https://youtu.be/rhSBoHi9Ha8

→ https://youtu.be/Q19_KHsxppc

→ "Hey Tee Fie" : https://youtu.be/508oHSQkN3c

■ "Muddy Bottom Blues" with Tab Benoit, Rock'n'Bowl, New Orleans, 2012 : https://youtu.be/WgsjLwJqDns

■ Paulie's New Orleans Jazz & Blues Festival, Worcester, MA, 2013 :

→ “Shrimp and Petroleum” : https://youtu.be/f7OzBF5xBrw

→ https://youtu.be/sQV2-y-CMDo

→ https://youtu.be/di1K8cinigM

With Allen Toussaint (left)

■ "Give Me A Dollar", Bogalusa Blues Festival, Bogalusa, LA, 2014 : https://youtu.be/uZ8w3n3cB7Y

■ "You Got Me" with Allen Toussaint, Louisiana Music Factory, New Orleans, 2014 : https://youtu.be/r6A3xLjK7e0

■ The War Eagle Supper Club, Auburn, AL, 2014 : https://youtu.be/dsqonB98F4o

■ With Tab Benoit, Big Blues Bender, Las Vegas, NV, 2015 :

→ https://youtu.be/wrBN-dNdBfg

→ "Nice and Warm" : https://youtu.be/s8Czqd517Sw – or - https://youtu.be/7mJD9pA60Ys

■ Threadhead Patry, New Orleans, 2016

→ #1 : https://youtu.be/r5aIuQBiYXU

→ #2 : https://youtu.be/_xuqYsKZwGs

■ Big Blues Bender, Las Vegas, NV, 2016 : https://youtu.be/ZlZrqfCKMR0

■ "Crescent City Moon", Santa Rosa, CA, 2016 : https://youtu.be/Lb5Dfh-zUuM

■ Louisiana Music Factory, New Orleans, 2017 : https://youtu.be/Fb7R0VPeauo

■ “Them Changes” with Tommy Castro, Windsor, CA, 2017 : https://youtu.be/se96qAVFxBo

With John Fohl

■ My Side Of The Mountain Festival, Arkville, NY, 2018 (with Anders Osborne & John Fohl) :

→ “The Night The Pie Factory Burned Down” : https://youtu.be/qNQ5v5WG6Ps

→ “Lady On The Levee “ : https://youtu.be/dhFKjAoYAA4

→ “Poor Man's Paradise” : https://youtu.be/2L3z5Hfy16o – or - https://youtu.be/4EkHNJObcCU

→ “First Shot” : https://youtu.be/zPJ4Jp0UaXg

→ “Send Me A Friend” : https://youtu.be/GiieYnWt3x0

→ “Summertime In New Orleans” : https://youtu.be/udOFNXAiUIY

■ With John Fohl, Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival, New Orleans, 2019 : https://youtu.be/AUD_BX8BiWs

■ "Everything's Gonna Be Alright" (feat. Dan Treanor), Swallow Hill Music Hall, Denver, CO, 2019 : https://youtu.be/vl9T0gk5ghc

■ “The St. Catherine” :

→ Dyson House Listening Room, Baton Rouge, 2019 : https://youtu.be/HEASTrtSd5s

→ Louisiana Music Factory New Orleans, LA,2014 : https://youtu.be/0w8s5mymDCA

■ "Lady on the Levee" Samantha Fish & Jonathon Long, Chickie Wah Wah, New Orleans, 2020 : https://youtu.be/2tP_7T8DQzE

With Samantha Fish

■ Streamed from the PinChurch, New Orleans, 2020 : https://youtu.be/DytnOdQ8xRQ?t=320

■ The SideBar, New Orleans, 2020 : https://youtu.be/eUWRi6qI0Ys

■ The Funky Uncle webcast, New Orleans, 2020 : https://youtu.be/deDv74zSuIw

■ With Samantha Fish & Jimbo Mathus, Samantha Fish Cigar Box Guitar Festival, New Orleans, 2020 : https://youtu.be/n-mNjJcFp8s

■ “Sucker Born” with Samantha Fish, Plaza Hotel, Las Vegas, NV, 2021 : https://youtu.be/DMWpd048qgE

From left: Tab Benoit, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux,
Johnny Sansone & Waylon Thibodeaux

■ With Waylon Thibodeaux, Samantha Fish & Tab Benoit, Ryman Auditorium, Nashville TN, 2021 :

→ “Night Train”  : https://youtu.be/TjlGRGLb_ks

→ “Poor Man's Paradise” : https://youtu.be/79fJpyM38hc

■ Chickie Wah Wah, New Orleans, 2021 : https://youtu.be/0YuFHYRzTTA?t=309

■ Greeley Blues Jam, Greeley, CO, 2021 : https://youtu.be/SdmS9ucfypQ

■ Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival, New Orleans, 2022 : https://youtu.be/JJS-7nCXgM8

■ “Poor Man’s Paradise”, French Quarter Festival, New Orleans, 2022 : https://youtu.be/4H6ja_5VYWI