Bluesville played a live cut from John Nemeth's July 2012 release this morning and I thought it was fantastic--singing, third position harp, the whole thing. You can preview and/or purchase here:
That was a terrific way to start the morning. Nemeth's harp work is piquant and curt, with a master's control of his bends, which are heroic. But what really nailed this for me was his singing, which is straight out of the tradition of early BB King, Little Milton and to a degree, JB Lenoir. It's a strong , clear voice, strong in the up registers and able to assert gravel and grit as he descends to the lower register. He does not overplay, he does not oversing, Nemeth has taste and emotional punch. This grabbed me by the lapels. Thanks for the heads up. ---------- Ted Burke http://youtube.com/watch?v=-VPUDjK-ibQ&feature=relmfu
"Blues Live" is a fantastic CD! I've been listening to it for a couple of months now and it still puts a smile on my face. Not only is Nemeth a great harp player,his voice is unbelievable. His voice is arguably the best in blues right now. The band is great,too. Super tight and well rehearsed. Really nice dynamiics.
John is a monster talent. Great singer. Great harp player. He's also a good friend. He recently told me that he will be relocating to Memphis. Our loss is Memphis' gain.
Blues Live and Soul Live are excellent CD's. It's a nice addition to a fine catalog of recordings by John.
"live" albums are getting tons of play during my commute lately. My favorite blues releases of the last couple years. .
Nemeth has a voice that just kills it. I envy his singing ability.
As was said before I can't really think of a better blues singer going at the big touring blues scene. His band is rock solid
Last Edited by on Jan 10, 2013 8:41 AM
The problem with YouTube is that still-developing players can sometimes be adversely judged by videos that reflect their work of 3 years ago rather than what they're doing right now.
Several years ago I judged Nemeth adversely here based on one video in which I didn't like the way he sang one particular song. I also thought his harp playing didn't measure up to the hype. I called that video as I saw it--but it wasn't representative of the full spectrum of what he was doing, and when I look at his recent videos, there's no question in my mind that he has now risen to the top of the contemporary field as a player as well as singer.
Here's a video recorded only a month ago, in December 2012. What's not to like? I'd happily pay money to see this guy--and I trust that you guys would, too:
he puts on a great show too...came to town and let some local harp players come on up (some who were well below average, too) and play along. My wife brought me to see him for my birthday in September. If I hadn't been drinking, I'd have loved the chance to go up and play some with him (but I simply won't play on stage after a few drinks...have learned that lesson the hard way).
