Dennis Jones Band 2009 Compilation
DENNIS JONES ~ PLEASURE & PAIN
Blues guitar heroes are like a major hurricane that blows down everything in their path, changing the musical landscape as surely as category 5 tropical storms alter the terra firma. Since Stevie Ray Vaughan perished tragically in 1990, the winds of change have been brief squalls at best ~ until now. Dennis Jones, with his third release Pleasure & Pain (Blue Rock Records), has the explosive guitar power, voice and songs to make his contemporaries quake in their boots.
Jones was born in Baltimore, Maryland. The drums were his first passion and they still form his relentless grooves. He started playing guitar at 13, took a few informal lessons from a friend who taught him “House of the Rising Sun” and was rocking out with his Marshall stack two years later in a band with older cats. His tastes evolved in tandem with his skills and the rock of the Rolling Stones, The Who, Bob Dylan and Santana influenced him profoundly, along with 60’s guitar greats Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Winter and Jimmy Page. Combined with blues legends B.B., Albert and Freddie King and the invincible R&B artists such as Al Green, James Brown and Motown, the result is a human music machine who can singe the strings of his Strat while singing deep from his soul.
From 1977-80, Jones was in the service and stationed in Germany where he gained further experience with a variety of bands. In 1985, he made Los Angeles his home and headed a Led Zeppelin-meets-Funkadelic band called Blackhead that attracted industry attention. In the early 90’s, Jones’ formed the Dennis Jones Band, followed his passion and made a commitment to house rockin’ blues.
Pleasure & Pain contains 11 blazing intense original numbers. “Brand New Day” does not just swing the shuffle; it kicks it all over the lot as Jones exhorts “Dance your blues away!”. “Don’t Worry About Me” adds an element of contemporary vocal harmony, reminiscent of the Sopranos theme song, to the booty-bumping minor funk. He engages in some winking braggadocio by singing “no beg, no way” in “I’m Good” over the hardest pounding shuffle rhythm highlighted by his stirring, punishing picking. Jones changes tack in “Kill the Pain” with a slow, raunchy boogie exposing the futility of cocaine abuse and featuring low down country blues licks elevated to inflammatory levels. “Blue Over You” finds him playing infectious, funky lead/rhythm guitar, with a nod to the Voodoo Child, in a hook-laden number that has hit radio potential. “Sunday Morning Rain” takes yet a different turn as a pop rock ballad that would not be out of place in Nashville as Jones croons his melancholy tale of romantic woe. The driving minor key rocker “Home Tonight” displays an urgency that permeates the entire album.
“Try Not to Lie” rocks the blues, like a certain trio from Texas, as Jones addresses a common theme with the ironic, “If you try not to lie, I will try to do the same.” “I Want It Yesterday” is a nasty slice of ominous, heavy riff rock while “Him or Me” channels Jimi in an impressive display of trio rock that rumbles and roars with fury. Closing the astounding set is the charging and lusty musical locomotive called “Hot Sauce” that fittingly has Jones quoting “Third Rock from the Sun” with the dynamic “call and response” frame work.
When not writing songs for his own use, Jones dedicates his time to writing songs for his friends and guitar heroes. Guitar Shorty in his next album coming out on Alligator Records 2009/2010 is covering one such song, “Temporary Man”.
It is risky to make predictions, but if anyone has a legitimate shot at filing the blues guitar hero void it is Dennis Jones. He has the head, heart and hands to do it.
Dave Rubin, 2005 KBA Award Winner in Journalism.
DENNIS JONES ~ THE BUZZ
“He’s the rare newcomer to recording who displays mastery over his musical expression without resorting to bombast, flash, fury or histronics. Jones possesses a confident, smoky midrange voice and shows a deft touch on both acoustic and electric guitar.”
M.E. Travaglini, Blues Revue
“From the opening horn blasts of the first cut “Brand New Day”, Jones revels in a passionate and fresh approach to the blues that carries through this entire CD. He brandishes his guitar with flair, his vocals are creative and self-assured while his songwriting has taken a big step forward. This is clearly an evolved and self-realized Dennis Jones. Each of the 11 original songs here display an inner confidence that he believes in himself and for the first time has translated that to a recording."
Michael Kinsman, President, Blues Lovers United of San Diego.
“I’ve known Dennis Jones for several years and have been spinning tracks from his first two discs, “Falling Up” and “Passion for the Blues”, both of which were really good. When he told me he thought “Pleasure and Pain” was his best effort to date, I took a wait-and-see attitude. Well, wait and see no more. “Pleasure and Pain” is his best effort and truly one of the year’s best discs to date. It will leap out and grab you from the opening notes of “Brand New Day” with its great horn lines and doesn’t’ let up through 11 really fine original tunes. Dennis’ guitar work has always been top notch, but on this record his vocals are more in the forefront, thankfully, because his voice has matured. His ability to switch from searing blues/rock to the soulful groove of “Sunday Morning Rain” is another big plus for me on this record. But even above his guitar work and his excellent vocals, the one factor that makes this a terrific disc is the songs themselves. Dennis is a very gifted songwriter and his passion for this music really shows through in every track. As I said, one of this year’s best records. Do yourself a favor and experience some “Pleasure and Pain”, you’ll be glad you did.
”Brett Fleming, “Soul Stew”, WEVL, Memphis, TN
“A real thrill to hear you in person again – you’re a wild man with that guitar and you leave it all on stage! Totally big time – I know that there are big things ahead for Dennis Jones and the Dennis Jones Band. You’ve got a great on-stage persona too. High energy, animated, fun and pouring your heart into those solos. Congrats again on the CD – my favorite tracks are “Brand New Day”, “Try Not To Lie” and “Him or Me”. Killer production, too. The attention to detail really shines through.”
Nick Gerard, KKJZ 88.1 FM, Los Angeles, CA
“Dennis Jones is a maverick blazing blues trails with great songs and blistering guitar."
Zac Harmon
“Dennis Jones is a helluva guitar player, vocalist, songwriter and great entertainer. And you can’t beat him as a human being.”
Guitar Shorty
