Search - Al Copley :: Jump on It

Jump On It

Arthur Shuey | Wilmington, NC USA | 01/30/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Al Copley

Jump On It

One Mind Records OMCD1204

alcopley.com



Want to see an ideal live setlist? Pick this CD up and read the back cover. "Big 10-Inch Record," "Louie Louie," "Great Balls of Fire," "Please Send Me Someone to Love" and "How Sweet It Is" are all here for the jukebox/olides radio/dj crowd. For the more discerning, "The Last Thing I Needed," "Hoy Hoy Hoy" "Stranger in My Hometown" and "Someday" fill out the bill. For a working musician trying to keep true to his roots while at the same time paying the rent, setlist strategy is a huge part of daily labor. Al Copley, Roomful of Blues co-founder/keyboardist/vocalist, is a working musician, one to take notes from.



He's not a great singer. He's an A- pianist in a world where A+ players often scrape by. His arrangements and sidemen lack the exciting old Roomful touch, which, one gathers from listening to Jump On It, must be credited in large part to Greg Piccolo and other members of that great band. Yet this album stands well on its own, because Copley has good sense. He knows what to do on a bandstand, and he does it well in the studio here. Former partner Greg Piccolo may inject more adrenalin into his opening passages with alto sax, bigger horn sections, more instrumentation and sharper arrangements, but Copley's continuous hammering on listeners' boogie and shag nerves put him in the big leagues. I would not care to follow this man at a festival or package gig, and I don't think Greg Piccolo would, either.



He's also a bit of a romantic with a knack for bouncing the raw, frayed ends of his voice off of sweet piano phrases to express poignancy very well. This is music for shallow shagging and shuffling, but also for nostalgia and turning leaves. This record is an ideal silver wedding anniversary gift. Al Copley is a festival act to hope for and encourage.

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