John Rooney - Joy

Let’s just forget whose name this album is released under, just for a minute or two. Do people still read the credits on albums? I used to devour every word, but I guess that with age and smaller fonts used out of necessity on CDs making the credits on some inlays unreadable and on the whole no information being available on downloads no one bothers anymore. So, I’ll list a few of the musicians listed in the credits for ‘Joy’. The ten songs were produced by Don Dixon. Without wishing to take any credit away from any musician who took part I’ll name but a few who contributed to ‘Joy’ - Mitch Easter and Rusty Anderson on guitars. Don Was and Chris Chaney on bass. Jim Keltner on drums. Spooner Oldham and Benmont Tench on organ, electric piano and piano. Oh, sorry, you’ve stopped reading and are frantically trying to buy a copy… It says it all that former Lonely Heart and Coronet Blue singer-songwriter John Rooney can command fellow musicians of that calibre. And while I would love to list every single musician who contributed to this album I will add just two of the backing vocalists as well, Susan Cowsill and Georgina Johnston, simply because they are brilliant vocalists. What to expect from ‘Joy’ then given that it features some of the most respected musicians around today? Rooney tells us that he was thinking ‘Mad Dogs’-era Joe Cocker for this album. While he’s certainly captured that vibe on certain tracks he’s gone far above his initial musical vision for this collection. Although ‘Delicious’, complete with horns from the Uptown Horns, captures the ambience of Rooney’s inspiration, his smooth vocal style actually adds to the soulfulness of the song. One might assume that if you’re aiming for the passion that Joe Cocker injected into his songs then shorn of that singer’s raspy soul vocals the effect wouldn’t be as pronounced. Rooney isn’t a soul shouter as I think we’ve mentioned before, but one of this generation’s best blue-eyed soul singers who can express pure emotion while seemingly not breaking out into a sweat. Rooney’s power pop roots are still evident on some songs but they are subtly now mixed into a mix of southern soul and gospel, no strangers on some of Rooney’s previous work, but this time, while all the albums Rooney has been involved in have all been way, way above average, for some reason ‘Joy’ feels that it’s the pinnacle of what Rooney has been building up to through his previous work. Quite simply it’s a stunning piece of music. ‘Joy’ contains some of Rooney’s most soulful work. ‘Shrouded in a Veil’ and ‘Kill the Dream’ are breathtaking cuts, given the talent backing him, not only the musicians but the backing vocalists, Rooney could hardly go wrong but those two songs that close the album show the singer at his most soulful. There are still slight traces of Rooney’s jangle-pop sensibilities spread throughout the album to keep fans happy while his soulful vocals have never sounded sweeter. The opening song, ‘Don’t Give Up Now’, is the perfect track to start the album, showing that Rooney’s pop sensibilities are still intact while exploring his soul music inspirations to the full. ‘All Over the World’ is simply outstanding; we asked the question when reviewing one of Rooney’s earlier albums if a track featured then, ‘Guilt Street’, was the definition of the perfect pop song? Well, here’s some competition and we’re only as far as the second track. ‘Grant Me Peace’ finds Rooney and company turning in one of the most soulful performances on ‘Joy’. Blessed with one of Rooney’s trademark captivating melodies it’s also a vocal tour de force from not just Rooney but all of those who lend vocal support on the song. John Rooney has already released more excellent albums than many artists can even dream of matching through their whole musical career. The fact that Rooney says he has another album’s worth of songs recorded around the time of ‘Joy’ , which might see the light of day later this year, just shows that Rooney, right now, is on a roll and making some of the most passionate music he has so far been involved in. If this proposed follow-up to ‘Joy’ is even half as good as good as this collection, there should be a copy with your name on it reserved now. ‘Joy’ is a career high for John Rooney without question.

Track Listing:-

1 Don't Give up Now
2 All over the World
3 Grant Me Peace
4 Premonition
5 What Could Have Been
6 Delicious
7 Invisible
8 Darkness
9 Kill the Dream
10 Shrouded in a Veil