Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Saturday Night Mojo--"Neighborhood Sweetie"

Saturday Night Mojo have made a fine cd that showcases their fun, up-tempo, rocking brand of the blues. These guys have plenty of experience--they used to be The Porkchops, a well-regarded cover band from Cleveland Ohio. Then they began writing their own songs, and in 2002 they evolved into saturday Night Mojo. The band is made up of Ed Durma, (drums and harp) Ray Fisher, (bass) Denny Klisuric, (guitar) and Joe Piete (guitar). The songs are all originals. Things get off to a rocking start with the title track, written by Joe Piete and featuring a great Hendrix styled funky guitar sound. Next up is "Just The Way We Like It," written by Ed Durma, a harp showcase with another great guitar solo and hot drums. This one has potential hit written all over it. Then the Ray Fisher-penned "I Ain't Lying," a barroom blues shuffle that showcases the twin guitar attack. Then Denny Klisuric's song "Fool No More," it starts out rocky but soon is redeemed by a very nice guitar solo. "Boston," written by Joe Piete, is another of those eternal "gotta get back home" blues songs. Then a very cool things happens. The rest of the cd just takes off--Ray Fisher's "Nobody Got Dem Blues" and Ed Durma's "Ashtabula Blues" and "Old Black Moe" and "Never Givin' Up," both written by the band, are clearly the highlights--strong harp and guitar songs, great vocals, blues all over the room. And how many bands do you know who have the chops to close their cd with an instrumental? A really good instrumental--"Never Givin' Up" sounds like the Butterfield Blues Band on a good night! I truly expect these songs to get Saturday Night Mojo plenty of blues radio play. These guys are really very good. They play a variety of styles, they write good songs, they all sing. It's an independent production and that does show--I think the cd could sound a little better, especially in the vocals, with more money spent on production. But the future Iooks bright. I like this cd, and I'm already looking forward to where these guys will go with their next one.

You can buy this cd online at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/saturdaynitemojo1

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