Customer Reviews

Country Ghetto

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I'm from the south. I grew up listening to soul, funk, and blues. Mofro's music transports me back to summer evenings in the Georgia of my youth. Sitting around the table with my family over steaming plates of beans, cornbread, and collard greens as the sounds of Ray Charles, James Brown, Otis Redding, the Allman Brothers, Rufus Thomas, and Johnnie Taylor radiated from the living room.

Nobody does it better than Mofro. If you haven't yet....See Them Live!!

I'll keep it short and sweet.

I've been a fan the boys from Florida from the start. Their previous two albums were very impressive folk/blues experiences that become a part of your more with each listen.

I think that with there 3rd album, they finally got everything right. It all comes together and there is not a single filler track on the whole disc, they are all killer!

My wife and I bought it while visiting central Florida and I have to say that it was the perfect soundtrack for driving around the "old south" of Florida.

If you are already a fan, get this, you cannot be disappointed. If you are new to the group, then I suggest getting this one first as I believe it is the most accessible. Thanks guys!

Country Ghetto is the latest release from the swamp rock band previously known as MOFRO. Their first album on Alligator Records, as well as the first with JJ Grey fronting the band name, it's even more of a fusion of styles than their previous two efforts. It seems any direction MOFRO takes is a good one. Their first record, 2003's Blackwater, was steeped in funk and boogie. Much of it was like a melding of the styles of Sly Stone, Jon Spencer, Dave Matthews, and Prince, with a flavor of deep southern swamp rock and blues, an extremely original style for sure. 2004's Lochloosa was more funk and boogie, and, as some like to call it, "front-porch soul", along with an indication that the band was becoming more focused, and maybe just a tad more serious about music in general.

Country Ghetto is a continuation of all that and more, and probably their best record to-date. It takes the listener back to the steamy swamplands northeast of Jacksonville, Florida, where JJ Grey grew up. Though the dark and melancholy swamp rock sound is prevalent still, add in an air of political awareness and tales of the bleak adversity that wetland living is, and combine that with country rock dynamics and flagrant soul and R&B flavors. That's Country Ghetto. These are JJ Grey's stories, sang with an incredibly high level of passion.

A huge fan of Otis Redding, Grey often pours himself out in that poignant and intense manner. The song "A Woman" is about as soulful as a white boy can get, and incredibly similar to the renowned soul singer's potent wail. "The Sun Is Shining Down" continues down that soulful road, yet in more of a gospel direction. His Van Morrison influence also prevails in this one. The album's opener, "War", is a funked up rocker dealing with an awareness of uncertainty and greed in the world, a scenario that haunts us all. In it, Grey sings: "No one gonna do what's `right'. All we'll do is fight. There's a war goin' on, and the one's about to die are safe at home." It's very reminiscent of Sly Stone in places. In "Circles", Grey utilizes a vintage sounding electric piano as the main instrument. His vocal is exceptional in this melancholy, bluesy ballad. In the title song, he sings of life in a "Country Ghetto", of poverty and genuine contentment. He lets the listener know that he wouldn't change his upbringing for anything. The song's groove is both contagious and hypnotic. "Turpentine" is a boogie rocker done with grit and rock driven passion.

JJ Grey is a fine raconteur of tales of true grit, Southern hardship, and blatant realism. His music is a hodgepodge of styles, all leading to a point of gritty swampland funk and roll, done with incredible passion and pragmatism. Yet it's peculiar, that even though Amazon.com had once assessed his first CD, Blackwater, as one of the best of the decade, many still haven't heard of him or his band. The invisibility of good music, these days, is a blatantly clear injustice. Alligator has a tendency to detect artists who have great possibilities, yet haven't had the opportunity to be properly exposed. Country Ghetto is an opus worth exposing. JJ Grey has the potential to be one of the greatest songwriters of the era.

In the last couple of months, I saw JJ at Cafe 11 in St. Augustine, sitting in with Galactic at the Freebird, and playing for a full house with Mofro at their CD release party at the Florida Theater last month. Every show was hot... so is this album. Country Ghetto is as thoughtful and as well-played as Lochloosa and Blackwater.

I grew up in Northwest Florida, left for a long time after high school, and I'm back in the state, living in Jacksonville. This music captures the Florida that I grew up with and reminds me why I came back. The Sun is Shining Down on on what has always been home for me. If you grew up in the South, you won't be able to resist Country Ghetto either.

I thought it would be hard to improve Mofro, but JJ and the boys did it! The earthiness is still there, the great lyrics too, it's just a fuller sound. Listen a few times; I'm sure you'll appreciate the grown up sound too.

There isn't that much that I need to add to the reviews already here, but I feel compelled to contribute one because I love this disc so much. It's the perfect combination of stripped down backwoods swampy blues and stax-like memphis soul, with enough of a contemporary edge to make it seem like a part of the continum and not just re-hashed retro. He's like the musical child of Jon Spencer, Marc Broussard, Ray Lamontagne, and Mavis Staples. I bought his debut disc "Blackwater" which is also excellent.

I hadn't heard of these guys but read a blurb and gave it a shot. The opening track "War" has a great 70's sound and is wonderful when played loud. Every song has its own feel and although some are better than others, there aren't any bad tracks on the whole CD which is extremely rare these days.
Check it out if you like 70's style soul/rock with a bluesy feel.