The Deal: The blues gets a soul injection.
The Good: John Nemeth sounds like the reincarnation of Little Willie John. But with Nemeth, the package is more than just incredible vocals. He’s a world-class harp player as well, in the style of Little Walter. Nemeth is not a back porch bluesman. His original tunes are rockin’ wailers with a ’50s R&B feel. He demonstrates his smooth crooning ability on the soulful ballad “Fuel For Your Fire.” There are touches of ’70s soul scattered throughout the record, including the title cut, as well as “Too Good To Be True,” which sounds like it could have been lifted from a Sam and Dave album. But Nemeth is too versatile to get stuck in one groove. He gets into some hoodoo blues on “Daughter of the Devil,” howling like a tortured demon, backed by veteran bluesman and Butterfield blues band co-founder Elvin Bishop’s sinister guitar figures. Nemeth’s national debut for Blind Pig, ’07’s Magic Touch, featured left coast guitar whiz Junior Watson which left some mighty big shoes to fill. But in guitarist Bobby Welsh, Nemeth has found a worthy replacement. He’s a seamless fit, and Nemeth’s vocals soar smoothly over it all. There’s nobody in blues or any other genre that sounds remotely like him or has his range.
The Bad: Because he’s based in San Francisco, he doesn’t get out this way too often. But keep an eye out for him at Loafers in Raleigh, where Nemeth comes through occasionally as part of a harp players’ blowout package.
The Verdict: Check out his latest, go get Magic Touch, then start making room on your shelves for anything with his name on it. This guy’s gonna be huge.
This article appears in Mar 10-17, 2009.
