JOHN THE CONQUEROR
''THE GOOD LIFE''
FEBRUARY 25 2014
38:26
1 Get Em' 03:23
2 Mississippi Drinkin' 03:35
3 Waking Up to You 02:23
4 What Am I Gonna Do 03:27
5 Golden Rule 03:05
6 Let's Burn Down The Cornfield (Randy Newman) 02:46
7 Road to Bayport 04:14
8 You Don't Know 03:23
9 John Doe 03:19
10 Daddy's Little Girl 04:46
11 She Said 03:59
Tracks By Pierre Moore, Except 6
Michael Gardner/Drums
Ryan Lynn/Bass
Steve Lynn/Keyboards
Pierre Moore/Guitar, Vocals
REVIEW
by Mark Deming, AMG
Philadelphia's John the Conqueror have managed to succumb to the dreaded sophomore slump and rise above it at the same time on their second album, The Good Life. The band is still in full command of their blues power, and what they did well on their self-titled debut they do very well here. Guitarist Pierre Moore's tough, wiry guitar figures take the traditions of blues-rock and gives them a strenuous workout without playing them for too much flash, and drummer Michael Gardner and bassist Ryan Lynn are a powerful rhythm section who get the job done with lots of force and plenty of groove. The addition of Steve Lynn on keyboards is a good move, adding welcome tonal color to the tunes without interfering with the band's core approach. But the biggest problems that dogged John the Conqueror on their debut are still seated front and center on The Good Life. This band still has a bad habit of playing most of their songs in the same middling tempo, and by the midway point the groove has turned into a deep rut. And the sad truth is Moore isn't much of a songwriter. While he can come up with a good funky groove on "Get 'Em" and "What Am I Gonna Do," most of this is built around standard-issue blues changes, and there are too many songs about boozing, getting high, and getting in trouble, and not enough with anything resembling substance (though he tries on "John Doe" and "Daddy's Little Girl"); it's no coincidence that the most striking song here is a cover of Randy Newman's "Let's Burn Down the Cornfield." The Good Life confirms that there are the makings of a great band in John the Conqueror, but they need to beef up their songwriting if they're going to make it to the next level.
BIOGRAPHY
by Mark Deming, AMG
Playing a tough, soulful mixture of blues and hard rock, John the Conqueror are a trio formed by guitarist Pierre Moore, who was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. Moore began playing guitar when he was a teenager, and claims he took lessons from a homeless man who slept in the back room of a local auto repair shop. By the time Moore was attending college in Oxford, Mississippi, he'd joined forces with his cousin Michael Gardner, who played drums as well as bass, and the two worked together in a handful of bands, including the popular local combo IZM. Eventually, Moore and Gardner left Mississippi for Atlanta, Georgia, where they were members of the Slack Republic, a punk-influenced indie rock band formed in 2005, with Moore on guitar and Gardner on bass. The Slack Republic toured the East Coast, played a few dates on the 2006 Vans Warped Tour, and were featured on the soundtrack of James Spooner's documentary Afro-Punk before calling it quits in 2007.
In 2011, Moore and Gardner relocated to Philadelphia, where they met bassist Ryan Lynn while scouting out musicians for a new band. While Gardner originally intended to play bass in the group, he and Moore were impressed enough with Lynn that Gardner moved to drums to accommodate him. The trio took the name John the Conqueror, which refers to an African-American folk hero (he was said to be an African prince who was kidnapped and taken to America as a slave, but never allowed his masters to break his spirit or his pride) as well as a plant whose root is believed to have magical properties. John the Conqueror debuted in the spring of 2011, and soon began playing on the East Coast as well as recording a pair of EPs they released as digital downloads. John the Conqueror's growing fan base and positive press notices caught the attention of Alive Naturalsound Records, which released the group's self-titled debut album in the fall of 2012. The band hit the road hard in support, and in 2014 returned with their second full-length, The Good Life.
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
''THE GOOD LIFE''
FEBRUARY 25 2014
38:26
1 Get Em' 03:23
2 Mississippi Drinkin' 03:35
3 Waking Up to You 02:23
4 What Am I Gonna Do 03:27
5 Golden Rule 03:05
6 Let's Burn Down The Cornfield (Randy Newman) 02:46
7 Road to Bayport 04:14
8 You Don't Know 03:23
9 John Doe 03:19
10 Daddy's Little Girl 04:46
11 She Said 03:59
Tracks By Pierre Moore, Except 6
Michael Gardner/Drums
Ryan Lynn/Bass
Steve Lynn/Keyboards
Pierre Moore/Guitar, Vocals
REVIEW
by Mark Deming, AMG
Philadelphia's John the Conqueror have managed to succumb to the dreaded sophomore slump and rise above it at the same time on their second album, The Good Life. The band is still in full command of their blues power, and what they did well on their self-titled debut they do very well here. Guitarist Pierre Moore's tough, wiry guitar figures take the traditions of blues-rock and gives them a strenuous workout without playing them for too much flash, and drummer Michael Gardner and bassist Ryan Lynn are a powerful rhythm section who get the job done with lots of force and plenty of groove. The addition of Steve Lynn on keyboards is a good move, adding welcome tonal color to the tunes without interfering with the band's core approach. But the biggest problems that dogged John the Conqueror on their debut are still seated front and center on The Good Life. This band still has a bad habit of playing most of their songs in the same middling tempo, and by the midway point the groove has turned into a deep rut. And the sad truth is Moore isn't much of a songwriter. While he can come up with a good funky groove on "Get 'Em" and "What Am I Gonna Do," most of this is built around standard-issue blues changes, and there are too many songs about boozing, getting high, and getting in trouble, and not enough with anything resembling substance (though he tries on "John Doe" and "Daddy's Little Girl"); it's no coincidence that the most striking song here is a cover of Randy Newman's "Let's Burn Down the Cornfield." The Good Life confirms that there are the makings of a great band in John the Conqueror, but they need to beef up their songwriting if they're going to make it to the next level.
BIOGRAPHY
by Mark Deming, AMG
Playing a tough, soulful mixture of blues and hard rock, John the Conqueror are a trio formed by guitarist Pierre Moore, who was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. Moore began playing guitar when he was a teenager, and claims he took lessons from a homeless man who slept in the back room of a local auto repair shop. By the time Moore was attending college in Oxford, Mississippi, he'd joined forces with his cousin Michael Gardner, who played drums as well as bass, and the two worked together in a handful of bands, including the popular local combo IZM. Eventually, Moore and Gardner left Mississippi for Atlanta, Georgia, where they were members of the Slack Republic, a punk-influenced indie rock band formed in 2005, with Moore on guitar and Gardner on bass. The Slack Republic toured the East Coast, played a few dates on the 2006 Vans Warped Tour, and were featured on the soundtrack of James Spooner's documentary Afro-Punk before calling it quits in 2007.
In 2011, Moore and Gardner relocated to Philadelphia, where they met bassist Ryan Lynn while scouting out musicians for a new band. While Gardner originally intended to play bass in the group, he and Moore were impressed enough with Lynn that Gardner moved to drums to accommodate him. The trio took the name John the Conqueror, which refers to an African-American folk hero (he was said to be an African prince who was kidnapped and taken to America as a slave, but never allowed his masters to break his spirit or his pride) as well as a plant whose root is believed to have magical properties. John the Conqueror debuted in the spring of 2011, and soon began playing on the East Coast as well as recording a pair of EPs they released as digital downloads. John the Conqueror's growing fan base and positive press notices caught the attention of Alive Naturalsound Records, which released the group's self-titled debut album in the fall of 2012. The band hit the road hard in support, and in 2014 returned with their second full-length, The Good Life.
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
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