Country Ghetto

JJ Grey | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 20, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Alligator Records
• ASIN: B000MGVBNW
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,724 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Within the soul-drenched music of northern Florida's JJ Grey and band, the roots run as deep as the influences are indelible. "War" and "By My Side" sound like Southern-fried Sly and the Family Stone. "Turpentine" recalls the swamp funk of Tony Joe White. Both "A Woman" and "The Sun Is Shining Down" suggest long-lost Otis Redding sessions in Muscle Shoals, while "Mississippi" takes Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" on a trip down to the delta. From the harmonica-laced country blues of the title track to the gospel piano and choir of "On Palestine," Grey's music compensates with conviction for what it lacks in originality. --Don McLeese

Product Description

JJ Grey & MOFRO's Alligator debut, Country Ghetto features 12 original JJ Grey compositions that come right out of the Southern musical and literary tradition. Grey's ear for detail inhabits his songs, whether it is a story passed down to him from his grandmother or the tribulations of a childhood friend. His voice delivers them with an unflinching strength that makes the personal universal and paints a vivid portrait of an exact time or place with words and music. Like his songs, his rich, soulful vocals are forceful and commanding, seemingly old beyond his years. And the music, from smoldering soul ballads to gospel-fried funk to straight ahead rock `n' roll, brings it all home with danceable grooves and a melodic freshness that will stay with you long after the album ends.

Grey's songwriting influences are widespread. "I listen to people who tell the story," he says, naming Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, R.L. Burnside, Tony Joe White, Jerry Reed, Otis Redding, Dr. John, Sly & The Family Stone, Van Morrison, Bill Withers and Dan Penn. What these writers and performers have in common is a love for simplicity, evoking complex emotions with a minimal number of words. As a performer, Grey is influenced by the sexually charged blues of Howlin' Wolf, the country soul of George Jones and the hard funk of James Brown, as well as local personalities like street preachers and old time radio DJs.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The greatest southern blues funk and soul band out there, March 4, 2007

By 

K. Sullivan "No accounting for taste..." (Virginia - United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Country Ghetto (Audio CD)

Mofro has finally released their third recording. It feels long overdue (2 ½ years in the making). For those who have seen the guys touring over the past year or so, you will recognize a lot of the CD. Like "Lochloosa", this entry continues away from the funky informality that made "Blackwater" such a treat. It represents a greater mix of rock, soul, and R&B (not that the funk has disappeared, but it's not as prominent). This is not a complaint, just a matter of fact. Whereas I love "Blackwater", I like "Lochloosa" even better. And whereas "Lochloosa" would be difficult if not impossible to beat, these guys have put together another strong recording.

The title track, "Country Ghetto", is another southern anthem akin to "Dirtfloorcracker." J.J. captures so well a pride that comes from living the simple life. There is (or can be) a joy in just living, a joy represented in great soul music since its inception. A less polemic presentation of the same sentiment with a gospel slant is "The Sun is Shining Down." It also features the addition of strings to Mofro's sound. "On Palestine" recalls the intolerance and injustice previously remarked upon in "Santa Claus, True Love, and Freedom." After immortalizing their home state of Florida in song, "Mississippi" is next. It is reminiscent of Stevie Wonder's "Superstitious." "A Woman" is vintage soul. Certainly a stand out track for me is "Turpentine" and its introductory "Footsteps." Crank it up and get your groove on!

For those unfamiliar with the band, these guys represent the best in soul, funk, and blues out there today. They have a stripped down front porch soul sound (as they like to call it). Featured are guitars, organ, drums, and occasionally horns, harmonica, and tambourine. It is impossible not to stomp along with the up tempo tracks. Likewise, the slower tracks call you to close your eyes and just move with the music. Like a heaping helping of soul food, this music reaches the heart. You have to be cold and dead not to feel this.

There can be a wonderful humanity rooted in the southern musical traditions. It transcends whiteness and blackness. There is a certain spirituality springing from... something. Maybe it's the life not far removed from nature, maybe it is a material lack. Wherever it comes from, it is able to unite and bind us all - regardless of color, creed, etc. It is alive in the music of Mofro.

Buy Country Ghetto and then do what you can to catch these guys on tour. You won't regret it. I strongly encourage you to check out "Blackwater" and "Lochloosa" as well if possible.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars J makes you proud to be a Floridian, February 22, 2007

By 

T.A. "washingmachinemouth" (South Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Country Ghetto (Audio CD)

4.5 STARS.

I was introduced to this band a couple of years ago. A friend of mine who writes for a fishing magazine here in Florida knows Mofro's lead man, J Grey. "Lochloosa" had been out for a couple months, and me being a born-and-raised Floridian and musician, he thought I would enjoy their sound. What I heard was a moving musical masterpiece.

On all of Mofro's releases, the rock/blues/R&B influence is noticeable. Whereas "Lochloosa" was a bit more 'backwoods' with it's overall atmosphere, though, "Country Ghetto" is a little more 'radio-friendly.' Don't get me wrong--this is still vintage Mofro. JJG hasn't fallen into the "Some seek stardom but they forget Harlem" category; Mofro are still true to their sound as well as their station in modern music. The music has followed it's necessary evolution, however, and is a bit more readily accessible to the Mofro neophite or first-time listener. The electric guitar calls a bit more attention to itself; we hear a bit more piano; we hear a bit more backing vocals; we hear the occasional horn. Highlights in my opinion are "Footsteps" which leads nicely into "Turpentine," and also "By My Side" and "Country Ghetto." A refreshing addition to the mix is the 60's R-and-B influence throughout the album, especially on "Circles," "Goodbye" and "War," all of which are stand-out tracks.

What J and the band bring is a fresh take on old American sounds that every red-blooded American has loved at some point in their life--sounds that we have all grown to accept as the epoch of early American music. I will not overlap with other reviews here, so let me just say that Mofro take a fresh approach to funk, blues, gospel and southern rock, pulling elements from those genres at will. They intertwine the influences of those other sounds very well into their own original recipe, almost like it's all an homage to early American music. The grassroots, folky lyrics only make the music more genuine, as J tells stories about southern life that only a true Florida boy could put together. Regarless of the sound, though, they let the instruments and the voice do the work...their music is hardly over-produced, and you can picture them sitting on a fallen tree trunk by the Suwannee or St. John's, some with fishing poles, some with guitars or harmonicas, and the rest with cans of beer in hand, all singing in unison while swatting mosquitos.

My friend Brett was right--I do love this band. I love the lyrics. J is a true Floridian who cares a great deal about one of America's lost treasures...a place that is slowly being overwhelmed with development and over population. But J's music is more that just a social or political statement and a guitar twang: the songs and lyrics speak to you with a fresh yet familiar voice, and I find myself allowing each song to enter the transum of my mind like an old friend who has come to hang out and build a big fire in my backyard. J is like your next door neighbor, except he brings the modern-day musical talent of Beck or Lenny Kravitz to your house with him. I only hope that someday I can meet good neighbor J.

Why only 4.5 stars? Well, I think "Lochloosa" is the best CD Mofro has ever done. It was my first experience with J and his band, so maybe "Country Ghetto" will supplant it in my collection some day, but it's definitely a very close second right now. If you are new to Mofro, though, get this CD first by all means.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Glory Glory - Hallelujah!, February 23, 2007

By 

Argus Hamilton (Atlanta, Georgia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Country Ghetto (Audio CD)

This is Mofro's best work so far. Every song has been developed over the last few years of live performances, and the best arrangements are on this CD. JJ's voice is never more soulful than in "Circles" and "The Sun is Shining Down". It will give you chills! Swamp Funk is DEFINED in the "Footsteps/Turpentine" combo. "War" will have your foot stompin' and your head bopping from first listen.

If you have the chance to see this band live, you must take it. I will always remember the first time I heard Mofro @ Zydeco in Birmingham, Alabama. I stood there, practically motionless, soaking it in. Now, it is impossible to stand still when I hear them, but no other band has captured my attention so fast. The fact that Mofro hails from Jacksonville, FL makes it even better.