Customer Reviews

Gone to Hell

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I only have one other John Mooney recording (Late Last Night), which I like. But I have seen him live in New Orleans. After a smoking set, he shocked me and all in attendance by coming out for his encore without his guitar, and singing acapella, a spiritual hymnall, the Son House style. That element of surprise is heard on Gone To Hell. John achieves his own style on this recording while clearly influenced by some of the greats of the Delta Blues. He has a scaled back sound, with usually only drums and bass backing him, but occassionally keyboards too. The songs are not francy, but original. They have momentum. The only thing fancy is John's slide work which is done appropriately. Johns vocals are gritty, yet soulfull. I think Tom Waits fans would like this artist. I like John Mooney because he is a skilled original artist who honors his roots, and that is reflected in Gone To Hell.

...Having seen Mooney live the other nite @ the Fleet Bluesfest in Albany, I agree that he needs to be seen live to be fully appreciated (he stole the show from Otis Rush, who was headlining). However, I also have to disagree, in that I really enjoy this CD and think other Mooney/blues fans will too. I put it on for the first time as soon as I got home from hearing him live, and loved it first time through. An added bonus is Dr. John's piano on four of the tracks!

The latest release from John Mooney has given me mixed emotions. The acoustic sides are pure mooney at his firey peak. But the other numbers on the cd, seem to lag. Kind of a mooney lite presentation.

It should have been a live recording, in a live enviornment. This is where he excels. The odd adult contemporary vibe of the first cut left me confused. Is this the same artist that blew my mind at jazzfest in new orleans only days before? Where is all the rumpshaking rythmn he has had in the past?

Place this up against Dealin with the Devil and Against the Wall, two of his best releases, and you will wonder too. The album semi warms up towards the end with Dr John and Uganda chopping it up, but not as exciting as the real thing.

I think John Mooney has alot of promise and he will remain one of my favorite artists, every artist hits a few bumps in the road, and deserves a second chance.

See him live, that is the only way to see and feel the voodoo that he do.

OK - got this even though some folks did say it seemed a bit less intense than other Mooney recordings. I'd have to agree - it has more of a mainstream sound to me than his other CD's. That given, it's still a good CD, still has some good guitar work and some fun piano as others have noted - but I really couldn't identify a favorite song - all seem pretty equal. So - recommend as a good overall CD, just not the best.

I would (almost, see below) agree with other reviewers that, in order to get a whiff of the real John Mooney, you've gotta see him live. Nevertheless, I would disagree that this recording is "Mooney lite." On the contrary, I see this as another in a string of terrific studio efforts by an artist who has had too little recognition, and whose live performances defy the capabilities of a recording studio. (For those of you who want to hear a recording that is a close approximation of a Mooney-in-person-performance, I would recommend "Travelin' On"--a live performance recorded in Bremen, Germany with his seminal band, Bluesiana, in 1991. For the true John Mooney-holic, it's a must.) As for me, I have no expectations about style when Mooney releases a new album, and I relish every new turn that he takes in the studio. I'm thrilled to add "Gone to Hell" to my collection and have already begun trying to wear it out.