Stavin' Chain
STAVIN' CHAIN
Ruf 1446
available on amazon
There was something about this disc that made me keep putting off the act of putting it in the changer. I still don't know why that was, but I was in for a most pleasant surprise when I did. It is a good solid disc that shows a lot of promise for the future. There is nothing groundbreaking or revolutionary here. Nothing that is going to make you stop and say lets hear that again. It is a disc that displays some very good song straight shooting writing that sticks within the genre of blues. There is a good bit of exceptional quality slide and Dobro guitar playing. There are even a couple of tunes on which the producer of the disc, and a stablemate on Ruf, John Mooney, contributes his extraordinary guitar and slide guitar playing. This is the music of the delta region (there is an odd cut, EL GUAPO, that doesn't seem to fit yet), as diffused through the point of view of a residence of the melting pot for the region, New Orleans. This group, which is at the time comprised of 2 people, Grayson Capps and John Lawrence, with the sound, fleshed out by an assortment of other musicians on this disc, but predominately by people who have played with John Mooney. This is a close and very tight sounding disc and it reflects a similar feel and love for the music. Most of this is composed by Grayson Capps, with John Lawrence writing two songs, and the two collaborated on 4 others. Grayson Capps handles all the vocals on the disc, and plays some rhythm and acoustic guitar. John Lawrence is the man responsible for the exceptionally tasty Dobro, slide guitar, and most of the electric guitar sounds on the disc. He shows not only great potential but, rare in this day of guitar flash, he shows restraint and doesn't overplay, nor play too loud. This is the first major label disc for this group and it is an exceptional effort that shows some singular good taste with what they chose to present and how they unfurl it. They not only brought in John Mooney to produce, but also brought in Ron Fraboni to do the mixing, and this disc does bear the stamp of quality. An accomplished debut.
Songs, times, and writers
POISON - 3:37 - Grayson Capps
MONKEY BUSINESS - 4:23 - Grayson Capps and John Lawrence
SUSANNE - 3:04 - Grayson Capps
HARLEY DAVIDSON - 5:09 -Grayson Capps and John Lawrence
GET BACK UP - 4:06 - Grayson Capps
TRAIN - 4:06 - Grayson Capps
BLOODSHOT ANNIE - 5:36 - Grayson Capps and John Lawrence
EL GUAPO - 3:35 - John Lawrence
I DON'T KNOW - 4:58 - Grayson Capps
IKE - 5:53 - Grayson Capps
BIBLE - 4:46 - G. Capps/J. Lawrence
CHARLIE LOVE AND THE COUNTRY GIRL - 2:37 - John Lawrence
Musicians and instruments
Grayson Capps - vocals, rhythm, and acoustic guitars
John Lawrence - electric, acoustic, and slide guitars, Dobro guitar
John Mooney - slide and electric guitar
Jeff Sarli -bass
A.G.Hardesty - bass
George Recile - drums, bass, foot stompin', and chain droppin'
Mike Voelker - drums
Mike Skinkus - percussion
Dave Taratolo - pedals, and Hammond organ
Eric Lucero - trumpet
Produced by Produced by John Mooney