FIVE HORSE JOHNSON
''THE MYSTERY SPOT''
MAY 23 2006
45:17
1. The Mystery Spot/3:04
2. Ten-Cent Dynamite/4:32
3. Call Me Down/2:56
4. ... Of Ditch Diggers And Drowning Men/4:10
5. Gin Clear/4:37
6. Rolling Thunder/4:21
7. Feed That Train/3:26
8. Keep Your Prize/3:16
9. Three Hearts/3:12
10. The Ballad Of Sister Ruth/3:07
11. I Can't Shake It/3:30
12. Drag You There/5:06
Brad Coffin /Guitar, Vocals
Phil Durr /Guitar
Eric Oblander /Harp, Vocals
Craig Riggs /Keyboards, Vocals (Background)
Steve Smith /Bass
Dave Unger /Keyboards
REVIEW
by Eduardo Rivadavia
Not even a minor stroke could stop Five Horse Johnson from rockin' and, if anything, vocalist and harpist extraordinaire Eric Oblander's brush with the beyond only served to inspire the band's fifth album, 2006's The Mystery Spot, that much more. Also benefiting from Clutch drummer Jean-Paul Gaster's imposing guest appearance throughout (hear him take over "Ten-Cent Dynamite" with his outro solo), the record showcases a noticeably reinvigorated 5HJ -- not really messing with their successful, rootsy hard rock formula, so much as tackling it with renewed appetite. Starting with the opening title track's aggressive 5/6 blues shuffle, where Oblander's raunchy vocal pays discreet homage to early, pre-Dada Captain Beefheart, and continuing through gritty stomps like "Feed That Train" and the energized "La Grange" groove of "I Can't Shake It," where his harmonica punctuates Brad Coffin's geeetar-grit with soaring wails. Then there's the evocatively named standout "Of Ditch Diggers and Drowning Men"; co-written with former Big Chief member Phil Durr (who also contributes second guitar), it is further fleshed out with slide guitars and organs for a laid-back, down-home sound the Black Crowes used to own the patent on. The remaining cuts do their aforementioned comrades ample justice, without necessarily guaranteeing themselves a spot on future set lists, but The Mystery Spot's overall consistency and reliable sonic qualities (bottom line: few bands pull this music off so well) still offer Five Horse Johnson fans plenty of reasons to celebrate their return.
BIOGRAPHY
by Charles Spano
Five Horse Johnson comes straight out of Toledo, OH, with big riff, get down, rootsy, middle American rock & roll that takes acid blues and Led Zeppelin and mixes in influences like the Black Crowes, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Aerosmith, and ZZ Top.
The band -- made up of Eric Oblander on harps and vocals, Brad Coffin on guitar, Steve Smith on bass, and Mike Alonso on drums -- got together in 1995 and began opening for acts like War, Southern Culture on the Skids, Atomic Bitchwax, the Queens of the Stone Age, and R.L. Burnside. In 1998, they released Double Down. The critically acclaimed Fat Black Pussycat followed in 1999 and The No. 6 Dance came out on Small Stone Records in 2001.
''THE MYSTERY SPOT''
MAY 23 2006
45:17
1. The Mystery Spot/3:04
2. Ten-Cent Dynamite/4:32
3. Call Me Down/2:56
4. ... Of Ditch Diggers And Drowning Men/4:10
5. Gin Clear/4:37
6. Rolling Thunder/4:21
7. Feed That Train/3:26
8. Keep Your Prize/3:16
9. Three Hearts/3:12
10. The Ballad Of Sister Ruth/3:07
11. I Can't Shake It/3:30
12. Drag You There/5:06
Brad Coffin /Guitar, Vocals
Phil Durr /Guitar
Eric Oblander /Harp, Vocals
Craig Riggs /Keyboards, Vocals (Background)
Steve Smith /Bass
Dave Unger /Keyboards
REVIEW
by Eduardo Rivadavia
Not even a minor stroke could stop Five Horse Johnson from rockin' and, if anything, vocalist and harpist extraordinaire Eric Oblander's brush with the beyond only served to inspire the band's fifth album, 2006's The Mystery Spot, that much more. Also benefiting from Clutch drummer Jean-Paul Gaster's imposing guest appearance throughout (hear him take over "Ten-Cent Dynamite" with his outro solo), the record showcases a noticeably reinvigorated 5HJ -- not really messing with their successful, rootsy hard rock formula, so much as tackling it with renewed appetite. Starting with the opening title track's aggressive 5/6 blues shuffle, where Oblander's raunchy vocal pays discreet homage to early, pre-Dada Captain Beefheart, and continuing through gritty stomps like "Feed That Train" and the energized "La Grange" groove of "I Can't Shake It," where his harmonica punctuates Brad Coffin's geeetar-grit with soaring wails. Then there's the evocatively named standout "Of Ditch Diggers and Drowning Men"; co-written with former Big Chief member Phil Durr (who also contributes second guitar), it is further fleshed out with slide guitars and organs for a laid-back, down-home sound the Black Crowes used to own the patent on. The remaining cuts do their aforementioned comrades ample justice, without necessarily guaranteeing themselves a spot on future set lists, but The Mystery Spot's overall consistency and reliable sonic qualities (bottom line: few bands pull this music off so well) still offer Five Horse Johnson fans plenty of reasons to celebrate their return.
BIOGRAPHY
by Charles Spano
Five Horse Johnson comes straight out of Toledo, OH, with big riff, get down, rootsy, middle American rock & roll that takes acid blues and Led Zeppelin and mixes in influences like the Black Crowes, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Aerosmith, and ZZ Top.
The band -- made up of Eric Oblander on harps and vocals, Brad Coffin on guitar, Steve Smith on bass, and Mike Alonso on drums -- got together in 1995 and began opening for acts like War, Southern Culture on the Skids, Atomic Bitchwax, the Queens of the Stone Age, and R.L. Burnside. In 1998, they released Double Down. The critically acclaimed Fat Black Pussycat followed in 1999 and The No. 6 Dance came out on Small Stone Records in 2001.
