Customer Reviews

Motivational Speaker

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Alvin Youngblood Hart returns to the '70s guitar rock he stabbed at on his 2000 release "Start With the Soul." While that record was eclectic, this one is mostly filled by one bluesy, ballsy rocker after another, from the opening track through the Robin Trower-esque "Creek Stomp," the Crazy-Horse meets Govt Mule groove of "In My Time of Dying" and the ZZ-Top inspired boogie of "Shoot me a Grin." To keep things interesting, Mr. Hart throws curves with Doug Sahm's "Lawd I'm Just . . ." and Johnny Paycheck's "Meanest Jukebox." In all, a very good guitar-rock record for those of us who like that sort of thing.

If you are looking for a gritty, bluesy Rock N' Roll album with a touch of honky tonk then you have found it. More electric and driving than his earlier stuff such as Big Mama's Door, this album will have you dancing at home or pushing your car past the speed limit. Highlights for me included the psychedelic "In my Time of Dying", featuring a searing solo by Audley Freed of Cry of Love and Black Crowes fame, hard riffy rocking "Motivational Speaker", rootsy rocker "My World is Round", and "Shoot me a Grin", which is Alvin in his element!! I was also pleasantly surprised at the country honk song "Meanest Jukebox in Town" which seems to almost take you back in time. The album closes with a nice ambient electric instrumental jam, which is very appropriate. If these kind of tunes are up your alley then you will definitely dig this album, which I think is among his best work!!!

If you like blues/rock with a touch of country here and there you will love this album. AYH is one of the best in the buisness. This guy plays a great slide guitar, right up there with the best, he can also take the slide off and totally wail.
There is not a weak song on this disc, highly recommended.

AYH can do it all!! This is NOT an acoustic country blues album, which we know AYH can do an excellent job of!! (No one can do Charlie Patton like AYH). This is a rocker of an album, and AYH can get some great phat tone from an electric guitar & amp! Tasty slide guitar work too! Put on yur dancin' shoes!!

This is an incredibly good, mostly blues rock recording. Even the stuff that isn't blues rock is very good. I just love this recording. Solid rhythm, lead and slide guitar work throughout. Alvin has a great, bluesy voice that he uses well throughout. Even the country songs are really good, and I am not big country fan. My favorite tune is In My Time of Dying. It is a terrific, haunting song that is hard to get out of your mind. Much better than the Led Zeppelin version. I find myself listening to this a bunch. And I keep looking up Alvin on Amazon to see if he has anything new. This recording and Start With the Soul are very different from Hart's other recordings because they are electric and his other stuff is acoustic. He is very good at both, but I am strongly biased towards the electrics. I really think this recording is the best new blues rock type recording of at least the last five years. Highly recommended. Don't just cherry pick songs, get the whole recording. It will grow on you. I wish there were more artists out there creating music like this. And I hope Alvin will record more stuff of this caliber.

I can't believe I waited so long to get this album. I had all of Alvin's previous CDs, but I wasn't really connecting to the music, so I passed on this the first time around. Listening to some of his earlier stuff, I was inspired to check to see if Alvin had anything new, and I saw Motivational Speaker was still the most recent, so I ordered it.
Man! This is some kinda record! After a few spins, I have to say I think it's his best yet. This album is more consistent in its sound, and even when He throws out a Johnny Paycheck cover, the flow is undisturbed.
Hart must be the most underrated guitarist in the world (maybe Tim Carroll is less well-known). It's hard to believe that his work is relatively obscure, given the fact that he's won some major awards, including a Grammy. Some major artists have recognized his talents---Clapton, Dylan, etc., have spoken well of his skills.
But it doesn't really matter what someone else thinks of Alvin Youngblood Hart. It only matters what you think. I think you'll love this if you have any affinity for raw electric blues as played by a very powerful power trio, if you miss Jimi Hendrix, Phil Lynott or Sly Stone, if you like Taj Mahal and other iconoclastic bluesmen.
The world would be a better place if everyone owned and played this album.
Buy it. Play it Loud!

It's like Kryptonite to the Blues Police and the Lemon Suckers. AYH is his own man. 70's style blues rock riffage without the cliches, tone for days, classic country played like a maestro and serious slide like nobody's business.

His best to date and a breath of fresh air. Inspiring.

AYH WILL PROBABLY REPLACE MY SRV STICKER,ALTHOUGH I SUSPECT HE PLAYS A TELECASTER."MY WORLD IS ROUND" INSPIRING VERY STRONG A VERY GOOD WEIGHT LIFTING OR LOG SPLITTING SONG."IN MY TIME OF DYING" IS INTERESTING AND THE GUITAR WORK IS FINGER LICKIN!I LET MY WIFE AND SON LISTEN TO IT AND THEY TURNED THEIR NOSE UP COMMENTING THAT IT WAS DEPRESSING.I JUST THINK THE SONG IS BEAUTIFUL PROBABLY A DEDICATION TO OHLHAVER.WORTH THE MOOLAH BETTER THAN A REAL ESTATE SEMINAR ABLE TO LEAP THE TALLEST MUSICAL BOUNDARIES.

I ordered it, paid for it, they shipped it, I received it.
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