JJ Grey & Mofro (Florida, USA)

Country got Soul.
That's one way to describe what this is all about. Another would be that John 'JJ' Grey is the bastard son of John Fogerty and Tony Joe White with a big dollop of Otis Redding thrown in the mix.
You see my friends, this band from Jacksonville plays that swamp groove to perfection and doesn't forget to throw in some solid funk for good measure.
They released their first two albums under the Mofro name then changed labels and became JJ Grey & Mofro.
Though it was clear from the beginning that Grey was the main man I suspect the label change had something to do with the name change. The current situation is that Mofro indeed became an ever changing carousel of backing musicians.

Although all 5 of the albums are interchangeably perfect, the third one is my personal favorite.

Opens with a fiery swamp rocker 'War' (not the Edwin Starr one) goes on to the funky 'Country Ghetto' and the slow groove of 'Tragic' then the horn filled 'By my side' and the highlight 'On Palestine' a piano heavy ballad.
That's five shots to the head in 20 minutes.

The fourth album is the most horn driven and a bit more smoothly produced. Dan Prothero is the man that's done all the albums so far and they were all recorded at the same Retrophonics studio on antique equipment.
JJ Grey believes in tradition.


This year saw the release of the latest and a return to the guitar. Less horns.

Again a mix of funk, swamp rock and slow burn ballads. Opener 'Diyo dayo' harks back to the voodoo stomp of Dr.John while 'Slow, hot & sweaty' is, well, pure sex.

JJ Grey simply deserves to be heard for he is a true craftsman with a love for all things traditional and environmental. I hope one day he'll get the fame he so rightly deserves and I'm pretty sure he won't go the Kings of Leon way when that day arrives.