Search - Syl Johnson, Jimmy Johnson :: Two Johnsons Are Better Than One

A real pair of BLUES BROTHERS!

Sam Mosley | Toronto, Ontario | 03/01/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have been a Jimmy Johnson fan for a few years now, and I am somewhat familiar with Syl Johnson's career. This is the first time that these siblings recorded together and they put together a terrific set of soul and blues. Jimmy has recorded many of these songs before and he is able to put quite a bit of life into these new versions of them. It is noted that many of the Syl Johnson songs are also remakes and they to sound terrific. The duo shares the vocals on several songs including the funky title track, the bluesy "I Used to be a Millionare", and several other tunes. Syl does a few topical numbers ("Is It Because I'm Black", "If I Wuz White"), a tribute to the famed tv talk show host ("Oprah") and several other very fine originals. Jimmy let's his guitar get down on the instrumental "Bottom's Up".

This cd went fairly unnoticed when it was first released which is a shame, considering the quality of the music involved. Both Jimmy and Syl have had fairly distinguished careers on their own and so it was nice to hear them record this relaxed, enjoyable set of blues and soul."