Delta Moon Records artist: Bob Malone - Mojo Deluxe - New release review

I just received the newest release, Mojo Deluxe, from Bob Malone and it's got something special. Not only is Malone a skilled keyboardist, vocalist and songwriter, he has given me "Cliff Notes" on some of the tracks telling me what he's singing about. You gotta understand, I'm a musician, not a poet. You need to hit me in the head with a line if you want me to get it...I'm listening to the music. The release opens with an uptempo rocker, Certain Distance, with a driving beat compliments of Kenny Aronoff (drums), Jeff Dean (bass) and Chris Trujillo (percussion). With nice backing vocals by Lavone Seetal and Karen Nash, this track rocks. Bob Demarco rips the slide and Stan Beherens on harp round out this organ driven track about Malones struggle with introversion. He sounds happy with it so I guess that's ok! Toxic Love has a more stable blues rock platform with nice slide dobro work from Demarco. Malone handles lead vocals and adds some real nice key riffs. Behrens is back on this track as well with tight harp riffs. Ray Charles track, Hard Times is a really nice selection for Malone. His vocal and piano style work well with Charles basic format. Demarco plays a outstanding guitar solo on this track pushing Malones vocals forward. Excellent! I'm Not Fine is another track with a specific message. Malone sounds like a friend of mine who always puts on the fine face but really just wants things to be better. Mostly a pop formatted track, Seetal and Sarah Nolan add some real nice backing vocals to Malones lead vocals and Clav work. A somber ballad, Paris, describes the loneliness of being on the road even in the most romantic towns on earth. A solid radio track with tension and melody, this track has guts. Looking For The Blues has a Leon/Cocker feel with some particularly cool piano rolls. Marty Rifkin lays in some real nice slide riffs and horn backing from Lee thornburg (trumpet), Nick Lane (trombone) and Tom Evans (sax) give it a sassy feel. Rage & Cigarettes has a cool groove driven by Jeff Dean on bass and Malone's Wurlitzer. I particularly like Malone's vocal delivery on this track and Mike Baird is real tight giving the track real snap. Demarco lays down another set of tasty guitar riffs setting this track off nicely and Seetal and Nash do a great job on backing vocals. Muddy Waters' She Moves Me goes right down the center of blues alley. Malone takes a healthy piano solo on this track with only rudimentary backing by Demarco, Tim LeFebvre on bass and Beherens on harp. Rolling blues, Don't Threaten Me (With A Good Time) has a Jimmy Reed basis and really warm backing vocals by Seetal, Nash, Ali Handal, Amy Englehardt and Trysette. This track had a fine balance of keys, guitar and horns with the vocal harmonies being it's strength. Watching Over Me, although country influenced, reminds me a bit of an early Elton John composition. A tale of a down and out musician who gets a break when he has nothing, inspired this track. Gospel like backing vocals from Seetal, Nash and Trysette with stylized piano work makes this a solid leader for best on release. Very nice! Chinese Algebra purportedly contains all of the eclectic elements of Malone's playing. I hear some definite familiar riffs and it is a clever track, mostly jazz rock like...very cool! Wrapping the release is Can't Get There From Here, the thoughts of a middle aged man looking back and forward at his life. Demarco's dobro work under the backs key and vocal by Malone sets the tone and again super vocal backing by Seetal, Trysette, Sarah Nolan, David Manuel, and Charisse Lucena make a nice impact. This is a really nice release with a solid vocal impact.

   

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Bob Malone is Playin’ Up a Storm on New "Mojo Deluxe" CD Coming August 21 on Delta Moon Records

Bob Malone is Playin’ Up a Storm on New Mojo Deluxe CD Coming August 21 on Delta Moon Records

L.A.-Based Keyboardist/Singer/Songwriter on Tour This Summer and Fall with Solo Dates as Well as With Rock Legend, John Fogerty

LOS ANGELES, CA – Bob Malone, who has toured the world for two decades as a solo artist, as well as played keyboards in rock legend John Fogerty’s band since 2011, announces the release of his new CD, Mojo Deluxe, on Delta Moon Records, distributed nationally by Burnside Distribution. Bob Malone will support the release of Mojo Deluxe with a number of solo dates that showcase his unique hybrid of rock, blues and New Orleans R&B, delivered with high-energy piano virtuosity and a voice all his own. Shows include two weeks in the northeast in August, followed by southern dates in September and almost a month in the UK in October. Malone will also be doing more tour dates as a member of John Fogerty’s band as well.  

Mojo Deluxe is the eighth solo album for Bob Malone, who was classically trained, holds a degree in jazz and has played a lifetime of shows at rock and roll clubs, theatres and arenas. Born and raised in New Jersey, he has lived in New York City, New Orleans and Boston, and is currently based in Los Angeles. Playing an average of 100 tour dates a year, he has shared stages with Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Jimmy Buffett, Rickie Lee Jones, The Neville Brothers, Rev. Al Green, Dr. John and many others. As a solo artist, Bob tours the US, UK, Europe and Australia extensively, including sets at Glastonbury Music Festival and Colne Blues Festival in the UK; Long Beach Bayou Fest, Falcon Ridge Folk Fest in the US; plus the Blue Mountains Music Fest and Narooma Blues Fest in Australia. At the world-famous New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, he has twice played the legendary WWOZ Piano Night.

The even-dozen tracks on Mojo Deluxe feature the wide-breadth of Malone’s musical knowledge and include exiting originals, as well as cool covers of songs by Ray Charles (“Hard Times”) and Muddy Waters “She Moves Me”).  The sound is a perfect gumbo of dirty blues, classic rock & roll and New Orleans piano pyrotechnics. It’s where Bob Malone stomps his foot on a miked-up cigar box, rips on a funky old upright piano and a vintage Wurlitzer and sings fearlessly of life at the halfway point. It’s loaded with deep grooves, swamp rock, gospel-drenched ballads and plenty of nasty slide guitar. The all-star band backing him on the new CD includes harmonica player Stan Behrens (WAR), bassist Tim Lefebvre (Tedeschi-Trucks Band), drummer Mike Baird (Journey, Bob Dylan, Joe Cocker), producer/guitarist Bob DeMarco and drummer Kenny Aronoff, Malone’s Fogerty bandmate. The album was recorded at several studios in the Los Angeles area, as well as in New York City.

Bob Malone offered insights into some of his songs contained on Mojo Deluxe:

“Certain Distance” - “I am an introvert, and a loner. I have always felt a little bit separate from my fellow humans. Most people - even the ones who know me well - take it personally. Which has always amazed me. So once and for all, I want you all to know it’s not you - It’s me. Now leave me alone.”

“I’m Not Fine” – “When people ask me how I’m doing, I say: “fine!” “great!” “never been better!” It’s the American way - nobody likes a complainer! But lately it’s been getting a lot harder to fake it. To be honest: I’m not fine. Thanks for asking.”

“Paris” – “When I tour Europe, I usually play Paris, and my wife, of course, likes to go there with me. When we are there together, it is terribly romantic and we sincerely feel we are in the finest place on earth. But the last time I played Paris, I went alone, and when you’re there alone, Paris is just a city full of French people. Smoking. And when the waiter gives you that Gallic arch of the brow when you ask about a table for one, you just can’t wait to go home.” 

“Watching Over Me”- “It took me 25 years to write this song. In the early ‘90s I moved to Los Angeles from the east coast and before long I had a few gigs with country music legend Freddy Fender. There was this one show in Las Vegas and I completely underestimated how much gas money I would need to get there in my aging piece-of-sh*t Dodge van. By the time I arrived, my gas tank was empty, as was the half-pint of cheap whiskey in my glove box. I had no functioning credit cards, no money in my bank account and the gig paid by check. With nothing left to lose, I took the one single dollar I had left to my name and put it in a slot machine. I won two-hundred bucks. To this day, that’s really the only spiritual experience I’ve ever had. I’m still not a religious man, but I have to wonder…”

“Chinese Algebra” – “I always wanted to write something that would contain all of the eclectic elements of my piano playing in one coherent piece of music and discourage bad harmonica players from asking to sit in with the band. This is the result.”

“Can’t Get There From Here” – “I am Generation X, and I am middle-aged. And like every generation before, I can’t believe how fast it happened. I’ll spend the second half of my life trying to undo the damage done in the first half of my life. And maybe, in the end – redemption.”

In addition to releasing albums on his own and playing on scores of others as a session player and singer, Bob Malone played on the 2012 John Fogerty album, Wrote A Song For Everyone,  including Fogerty’s duets with Bob Seger, Miranda Lambert and Keith Urban. Bob’s TV appearances with John Fogerty included “The Late Show with David Letterman” and “The View.” His own music is heard regularly on “Dr. Phil,” “Entertainment Tonight” and “The Rachel Ray Show.” Malone’s albums have earned Top-20 spots on the Living Blues, Roots Music Report and Earshot radio charts, and are played on stations worldwide, including Sirius/XM’s Bluesville, BBC Radio 2, Jazz-FM London and NPR’s Acoustic Café.

Kurzweil Music Systems chose Malone to make the demo videos for their new Forte digital piano, and he is endorsed by QSC Audio, Hammond Organ and Fishman Acoustic Transducers.

“Pulsating, roaring keyboard work that grabs you and shakes you until you cry for mercy.”- Keyboard Magazine

“John Fogerty’s five-man backup band was slouch-free, too — with the show-stealer trophy going to a shaggy-haired Bob Malone”- Edmonton Journal

“Malone’s latest shows off everything that makes him great and more. Great songs, amazing production and playing, it doesn’t get much better than this.” - Filter

“If he could find a way to throw that Steinway grand over his shoulder the way a hot dog guitar player does, I think he would.” - NOLA Defender

“[Malone] showed that while he is a fantastically technically accomplished player, he fully knows the meaning of showmanship as well. A true virtuoso and crowd-pleaser.” Shetland News

Bob Malone will also release a DVD later this summer that contains many of the songs on Mojo Deluxe.