Mystery Spot

Five Horse Johnson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 23, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Small Stone Records
• ASIN: B000F3AA5W
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #118,243 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

"...The living embodiment of dirty, thirsty, blues-injected boogiecrunch." - HIGH BIAS

"Spawned from the same trailer park that brought us The Hellacopters, Alabama Thunderpussy and touring-mate Johnny Winter, Five Horse Johnson play inbred, ugly mammoth rock `n' roll slugged out with hairy fists and sore throats...funny and entertaining balls-to-the-walls rock." - INK 19

"Eschewing the obvious stoner influences of Sabbath, Vitus and Kyuss, Five Horse Johnson instead seem to hark back to the bluesier likes of Mountain and The Groundhogs...offers a glimpse of what Zeppelin's fourth album might have sounded like augmented by Mick Jagger in full faux-bluesman mode." - ROCKSOUND

When Five Horse Johnson formed back in 1995, announcing themselves as a blues band, their friends may have thought they had cause to worry. After all, it is a well-worn banality that white boys can only ever hope to mimic the blues, isn't it? Thankfully, over the past decade, Five Horse Johnson has happily proven doubters wrong. Over the course of six albums, the band has carved out a niche all their own, combining their love and respect for the blues with classic rock and other less dog-eared influences to become one of the most loved and respected bands in the stoner rock community. Always a right freight train live, the band has spent a lot of time on the road with the likes of Clutch and Halfway To Gone, gathering fans, friends and drinking partners all over the world.

Now, with The Mystery Spot and the help of their good friend and newest collaborator Jean Paul Gaster (Clutch) on drums, Five Horse Johnson has created their strongest album to date. The power is there in spades, and the influences are still clear (do I hear a bit of Captain Beefheart in there?). The Mystery Spot is a polished affair, but it's like the polish on a muscle car: it doesn't slow the vehicle down one bit. Collaborators include Roadsaw/Antler's Craig Riggs and Big Chief's Phil D & Mark Dancey, all doing what they do best. The Mystery Spot is a powerhouse of a record, a focused affair that makes the listener want to reach for the bottle, the smokes and the volume knob all at the same time.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thorogood, ZZ Top, and a handle of Jack Daniels, September 25, 2007

By 

W. Lyman (Brick, NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mystery Spot (Audio CD)

This is just a great band, and this CD is damn good. Everything they put out sounds the way blues-based rock and roll is supposed to sound. Ten-Cent Dynamite is a crunchy [...] of a tune. Of Ditch Diggers and Drowning Men is a catchy little ditty... probably the most radio-friendly track on the disc. Listen to it once and it will be stuck in your head for days. Feed That Train is a mean, fast punch in the face of a song. I Can't Shake It brings a groove so heavy that it would even make a deaf man tap his foot.

Slide guitars, harmonica, a voice that sounds like it's soothed by gargling broken glass, and lyrics that range from low down and dirty to deep and insightful. Give 'em a listen.

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Horse Johnson - The Mystery Spot, November 11, 2011

By 

Gentlegiantprog "Kingcrimsonprog" (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mystery Spot (MP3 Download)

Five Horse Johnson are an American Blues band from Toledo, Ohio who's Classic Rock meets Blues direction makes them appealing to fans of Stoner Rock. The Mystery Spot was the band's sixth full-length studio album and was released in 2006, making it the last release they would put out before going on a temporary hiatus.

If you are a fan of Clutch (especially their four most recent albums) then Five Horse Johnson are a band you are going to want to check out anyway, they share some sonic similarities and have toured and collaborated with each other on numerous occasions, as well as with similar artists.

This album actually features Clutch's J.P Gastor behind the drum kit making this album in particular share a `feel' with the Maryland based Stoner band. Gastor's brilliant, understated Bonham influenced drumming style is utterly fantastic, and is hugely impressive without being flashy.

Although it does serve a great incentive to get people interested, there is actually a lot more to the band than just easy comparisons with bands like Clutch and Sixty Watt Shaman, or indeed with their influences like ZZ Top, Mountain, Blackfoot etc.

The band's sound features a lot of slide guitar, harmonica and harp (the harmonica-like one, not the stringed one) and it takes the best part of 70s rock and updates it a modern feel and spices it with earthy everyman vocals and lyrics. If you can imagine what a Stoner Rock band would sound like if they had never heard any Black Sabbath, then that is as close an approximation to their actual sound as you are likely to get.

There are a lot of great, catchy songs on this record. The whole thing flows well from beginning to end and keeps a pretty strict hold on the Blues Rock formula without becoming dull. Highlights including `Ten-Cent Dynamite,' `... Of Ditch Diggers And Drowning Men,' and `Three Hearts' all of which are of the highest quality not only within the confines of the record, but in the band's entire repertoire!

Overall, I would highly recommend Five Horse Johnson to anyone with an interest in Classic Rock or Stoner Rock... or indeed to most people with an interest in The Blues. Five Horse Johnson are a very enjoyable and hugely underrated band, who make a consistent stream of high quality music. Any of their albums would make a fine addition to your collection, and The Mystery Spot is no exception.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars FHJ rocks it out!, May 13, 2007

By 

P. Smith (Clawson, MI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mystery Spot (Audio CD)

Great CD! They are similar to a hard version of Blues Traveler. On tour with Clutch so if you know them you kind of know what to expect.