German

Reminiscent of Roger Chapman from Family

Cooltourist

The band Duke And The Drivers had been on the Boston music scene since 1973, and in the years to come they earned a reputation as a crisp R&B party combo. For a long time the unmistakable frontman was Jo Lily, given the stage name Sam Deluxe. At the beginning of the second millennium AD he left the Drivers and founded The Mystix a little later, without making any significant stylistic changes. In the meantime the band can present their seventh album, named after a song by Scottish blues rocker Frankie Miller: “Can’t Change It”. The trademark remains the heavily roughened vocals by Jo Lily with a beautiful vibrato – reminiscent of Roger Chapman from Family! There are only four original compositions by Jo Lily on the CD (once in collaboration with his guitarist Bobby Keyes). The rest are more or less well-known cover versions, starting with Bob Dylan’s “Outlaw Blues” from 1965, over two songs by Frankie Miller to an homage to the Rolling Stones with “Backstreet Girl”. The trendy retro number “Dreamers Holiday”, which Perry Como made the hit parades in 1949, falls a bit out of the stylistic framework. Legendary guests are at the band’s side for some tracks: Charlie McCoy, a country harp idol who is almost 80 years old, oils his harmonica with a “Bottle Of Whiskey”, the English pedal steel artist BJ Cole refines the indestructible band’s slogan “Let’s Get Started “And the two brothers Luther & Cody Dickinson from the North Mississippi Allstars bring the famous RL Burnside number“ Jumper In The Line ”to dance with slide guitar and washboard… an authentic collection of gospel, blues and roots rock.  https://themystix.com

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Prime example of the term Americana as a melting pot

Wolfgang Giese

Today we are talking about a band that few people are familiar with although it was founded back in 2002 – The Mystix; singer Jo Lily and guitarist Bobby B. Keyes from Los Angeles, who is also active in jazz circles, were responsible for forming the group. Subsequently, the group grew and evolved thanks to musicians who hung around studios in Boston and other tour members who toured with bands and artists like Peter Wolf, Eric Clapton, Muddy Waters, and the North Mississippi All Stars.

As a matter of fact, The Mystix is a prime example of the term Americana as a melting pot, an excellent mix of rock, blues, country, soul, gospel, and other trace elements of American music history. Music is brought to life by Jo Lily’s striking vocals, with that rough, deep-throat, smoky, and raspy voice, and by the twin guitars of Bobby B. Keyes and Duke Levine. This along with the perfectly coordinated rhythm section, which always provides a reliable background for soloists and other featured artists. Those people include illustrious individuals such as Charlie McCoy, B. J. Cole, and Luther and Cody Dickinson.

They all join forces on the seventh album Can’t Change It, making sure a striking and very pleasant, touching sound is created that is very powerful and very loose and relaxed. The Band comes to mind, but I can also hear traces of some smooth songs by Dire Straits. (“Let’s Get Started”) Yes, Can’t Change It is an album title of format; after all, why try to change that mood?

Here, you fall back on the roots, uninhibited and with ease; with “Jumper On The Line”, for example, the Blues are invoked (the original is by R. L. Burnside), and other songs by other musicians like Bob Dylan (“Outlaw Blues”) take on a direction of their own. “Bottle Of Whiskey” by Frankie Miller gets a little raspier in the vocals than you are used to from Miller, and Charlie McCoy refines this piece as featured harmonica player.

But original compositions, too, such as “Brand New Love” by Jo Lily, absorb American music history, here with a light feeling of John Lee Hooker included. Traditional songs like “Wouldn’t Mind Dyin” have a trace of gospel, and when you hear “Backstreet Girl” by the Rolling Stones, the prevailing balladesque and harmonic mood of the title is interpreted with feeling.

Once again, rich blues with “Going To The River”, Jimmy Reed and Delta sound seemingly coming together, and at the end with “Dreamer’s Holiday”, a swaying trace of nostalgia of the fifties with a subtle jazz feeling. The song is also supposed to be a tribute to Bobby’s first guitar teacher since this song, which was popular at the time, is said to have been his favorite. But wait – there is also a bonus track, “Jumper On The Line” once again, a shortened version of the song to be played on radio programs. And that certain swamp feeling is there; the North Mississippi All Stars translate it into sound as accompanists.

Yes, this musical compilation in the sense of Americana is a success imbued with the swing and gospel of churches, the steam of swamps, and that certain back-porch feeling of days long past. So, here indeed, the formula holds true: Americana = The Mystix, a band that should finally move to the front row with its mysterious name!

Got that real raw dirty gritty mean voice

STRUTTER’ZINE

Now, this rocks pretty well like a SEASICK STEVE meets JOHNNY CASH meets HOWLIN’ WOLF kinda a mixture of rootsy bluesy rock and classic Americana countryrock. THE MYSTIX do it very well on their 7th album Can’t change it. This American band was formed back in 2002 around Jo Lily (vocals, ex-Duke & the Drivers), Bobby Keyes (guitar, Mary J. Blige), Tom West (keyboards), Marty Ballow (bass), Duke Levine (guitar), and Mario Giovino (drums, producer), and they deliver a great 14 tracks counting album here. The uptempo pieces are the best songs (Outlaw blues, Ain’t gonna cry and Jumper on the line), although the epic semi-ballads Let’s get started and Wouldn’t mind dyin have a real smooth feeling that sounds like something JOHNNY CASH did not create in his career. Definitely, a recommended band to check out if you like your country/blues/roots rock to sound as raw as possible because the band’s singer JO LILLY has got that real raw dirty gritty mean voice needed for this kind of music.