Mojo, May 2009

Idahoan singer and harmonica-player Nemeth made a stir with his 2007 Blind Pig debut Magic Touch and this follow-up underlines what a startlingly idiomatic voice he brings to songs set firmly in the classic '50s/'60s R&B mould. It's a little like hearing Sam Cooke accompanied by Little Walter and a tough Chicago-style blues band.

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Philadelphia Inquirer, February 2009
by Nick Cristiano

Classic soul and R&B styles have been revitalized in recent years by a cadre of young and relatively young artists such as James Hunter, Eli "Paperboy" Reed, and Sharon Jones. You can include John Németh on any list of the best of them.

Love Me Tonight, the second national release of the 31-year-old Bay Area-based singer and harmonica player, grabs you right from the start with the relentlessly propulsive title song, one of 10 originals here. The album then goes on to showcase the rich tone and versatility of his vocals, from the supple, sweet soul of "Fuel for Your Fire," which edges up into falsetto, down to the grit and growl of the accusatory "Where You Been." Veteran blues guitar great Elvin Bishop, who recruited Németh to sing on four cuts on his latest CD, guests on two tracks, including the Idaho-raised singer's autobiographical "Country Boy."

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East Bay Express, February 2009
By Lee Hildebrand

John Németh's Blues Explosion.
The East Oakland resident may be the best white blues singer ever.

Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, John Németh was singing and blowing the blues in Idaho bars six nights a week. He'd been making a decent living at it since he was eighteen, but then conglomerates bought up all the radio stations and banished local music from their airwaves, as they had practically everywhere else. The singer figured it was time to move on, as work had slowed after stations no longer played his self-produced CDs. He came to the Bay Area when his girlfriend, Jaki, now his wife, enrolled at San Francisco's Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising. It was the best thing that ever happened to him.

Today, Németh is not only the fastest rising star on the national blues scene, he may be the best white blues singer in the history of the genre. His momentum began in late 2007 with Magic Touch, his fifth CD and first for the venerable San Francisco-based Blind Pig label. With Blind Pig, which rivals Chicago's Alligator Records as the leading purveyor of contemporary blues recordings, Németh was suddenly getting play on blues radio programs all over the United States. Cross-country tours soon followed. His career kicked into high gear with the January 27 release of the follow-up, Love Me Tonight. The disc debuted at No. 10 on Billboard's blues chart earlier this month and two weeks ago shot to the top of Roots Music Report's blues airplay chart, ahead of such established artists as Guy Davis, Ruthie Foster, Saffire the Uppity Blues Women, and the Derek Trucks Band.

"The guy's got a voice that just knocks you out," said Blind Pig boss Edward Chmelewski. "It's rare to hear a white guy that can sing like that."

While white jazz and country vocalists have long included blues in their repertoires, going back to Jack Teagarden and singing brakeman Jimmie Rodgers, white musicians had little impact on blues per se until the British invasion and psychedelic revolution of the '60s. Instrumental, not vocal, prowess was paramount to the new non-African-American blues audiences. There were harmonica kings like Paul Butterfield and Charlie Musselwhite, and guitar gods such as Mike Bloomfield, Eric Clapton, and the Vaughan brothers, but prior to Németh there were few white vocal virtuosos. Only early Robert Cray Band member Curtis Salgado comes immediately to mind.

Chmelewski said that Németh reminds him of Joe Turner, and he's right to a degree. Both have power and rhythmic assurance, but whereas Turner was a blues shouter,

Németh is a blues crooner. He's a smoothie, and the way he navigates melismas and wide melodic intervals in a ringing tenor voice with pitch-perfect aplomb brings to mind Little Junior Parker, a major blues star of the '50s and '60s. Parker died in 1971, at age 44, before white folks had a chance to discover him.

"There aren't too many people in my age bracket or younger who are doing this," Németh said in the dining room of the East Oakland home he shares with his wife. "Most people aren't taking the singing too seriously. There are other facets of the music, like the guitar, that are more in the forefront. Seems like the vocalization has lost a lot of respect, but yet you need it. You can't sell a good song if you don't have it."

Clearly, Németh is trying to do something different. The Love Me Tonight cover photo depicts the handsome 33-year-old blond vocalist and harmonica player in a black suit, his white shirt open at the collar, his knotted black-and-white-striped tie dangling fashionably. An attractive brunette in a cocktail dress showing ample cleavage embraces him, her forehead pressing against his temple and manicured fingers against his chest. It's not your typical blues album cover. Chmelewski said the label was going for "a Tony Bennett look."

The music inside isn't your typical warmed-over South Side Chicago or Texas roadhouse blues, either. "There's something about John's music where he can take this retro stuff and make it sound modern," said Chmelewski. "It's old retro style, but it's not slavishly imitative. Because it's old and new at the same time, it can appeal to retro purists and also to young hipsters."

On Love Me Tonight, Németh's take on blues is polished and decidedly uptown. But he gets quite down-home on the Howlin' Wolf-inspired "Daughter of the Devil," one of ten original songs on the eleven-track disc. On that selection, Németh sings through his harmonica mike, rather than through a standard vocal mike, and the resulting distortion adds fierceness to his usually clear tenor tones. He gives the rocking "Just Like You" a growl, sounding a bit like his harmonica hero Junior Wells, and his lower register has a resonance akin to T-Bone Walker's. However, Junior Parker seems the most pronounced influence.

"I love his style," Németh said of Parker. "He just sort of swoops in everywhere and never had a bad phrase in his whole life. That's what's so cool about those singers back in the day. Sure, a lot of people could sing the notes, but very few singers could sing and tell a story to hook you into it and make it groove. Nowadays, it seems like so much vocalization is so rigid and simplified. People are afraid to take chances anymore."

Taking chances seems built into the fabric of John Németh's DNA. He was born in Boise on March 10, 1975, the son of a Hungarian Freedom Fighter. His father, Vilmus Németh, attended the University of Budapest, but he "wasn't a good comrade," according to John, and was kicked off campus by Communist authorities. He spent two years in the basement of a Catholic church before joining the ill-fated uprising. He fled to Italy, then to New York, where a refugee relief organization helped him land a job at a lead mine in Kellogg, Idaho. Soon, he was working as a highway bridge designer for the state and living in Boise, where he met his wife at a Catholic singles club.

Németh was raised on a steady diet of Hungarian food and Hungarian folk music, which he describes as harmonically progressive and similar to jazz. "The common instrumentation is violin, hammer dulcimer, upright bass, clarinet—no guitar," he said, while sipping a glass of pear palinka, a brandy-like drink with the bite of strong tequila. (He calls it "Hungarian moonshine," and he distills it himself, having learned the recipe from his father.) "I've never played it, but I always loved listening to it. Almost every day of my life, my dad would put that music on, especially the weekends. He'd put the record on and just turn it up. I always thought that music was loud. I don't even think I played my music as loud as he played his music."

Besides Hungarian folk music, young John heard a lot of classical and opera records around the house. He got a kick out of mimicking arias. "It got my voice going," he said. "Those operas singers know how to sing right, with a lot of power." Németh's first real exposure to American music came when his older brother moved to Los Angeles and left John his collection of eight-track country music tapes. He was drawn to artists like George Jones and '70s "outlaw" musicians Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Johnny Paycheck. To this day, Németh said, their music influences his songwriting. "I think you can hear that country influence in a lot of the songs I write, and I think some of those songs could easily be converted to country songs," he said. "When I first started listening to soul music, like Percy Sledge and Otis Redding, a lot of those songs could be country songs as well. In fact, some of those songs were country tunes. Country music and soul music really aren't that far apart in basic songwriting terms."

When he was fourteen, a friend turned him on to blues. He recalls his friend bringing a cassette to school and listening to it during algebra class. "I just flipped out," Nemeth recalled, "like, 'Wow, what is this?'"

His favorite songs were "I'm Goin' Down" by Freddie King and "Snatch It Back and Hold It" by Junior Wells. It was Wells' voice that particularly resonated with him. "It was funky and haunting at the same time, with a lot of energy," Németh said. "A lot that music reminded me of a lot of the gypsy, Hungarian folk-kinda stuff that I grew up listening to. It had that same power. Nothing was relaxed."

At sixteen, Németh became the vocalist in a blues band formed by a guitarist friend. A videotape of a talent show they'd done in Boise wound up in the hands of the proprietors of the Grubstake Saloon in nearby Horseshoe Bend. The band spent Fridays and Saturday playing the joint during the summer between his junior and senior years.

Singing came naturally to Németh. "I've always had a really easy time with a melody," he explained. "Like when I first started out and I was learning songs, the only thing I had to learn was the lyrics and all the verses. I'd write 'em down and memorize 'em. I never really paid attention to practicing the melody. It just came in my head and stayed there. ... I guess I've always been really lucky at that."

By the time he was eighteen, Németh was a performing six nights a week in Boise clubs, even while attending Boise State University. His band, then billed as Fat John and the Three Slims, made its first of three CDs in 1997. Németh himself wasn't fat, but having played football and lifted weights in school, he was bigger than the other band members, who he describes as "little, geeky guys."

Németh picked up the harmonica after the guitarist in his band suggested that the group could use a second solo instrument. "I went to go price a piano, and it was too expensive," the singer said. "To get one that would sound decent on stage, you had to buy the amp and the chair and this and that. You're lookin' at $3,000. I loved Junior Wells and Little Walter, so I bought a harmonica for six bucks." Although quite accomplished on harmonica, Németh uses the tiny instrument sparingly in his performances.

Boise's strong music scene helped keep the band in steady work at first. Bars would advertise on the radio, he said, and play his band's music to promote the show. The radio stations would also keep his music in rotation. But around 1999 or 2000, things started to change. "The artists that were playing the clubs weren't getting any airplay became all the conglomerates came in and bought up all the radio stations, like everywhere else," said Németh, adding that it was no longer cost-effective for the clubs to advertise on the air.

Németh followed his future wife to San Francisco in 2004, and the couple moved to Oakland last year. It wasn't easy at first. "I thought I was going to starve down here," he recalled. "I knew musicians, but I didn't know any of the clubs. I'm a terrible hustler." But he soon found that guitar players needed singers for their pickup gigs. He became known in the local clubs and started working with Kid Anderson, Kenny "Blue" Ray, and Mike Schermer.

Besides working locally as a sideman at such clubs as San Francisco's Biscuits & Blues, Lou's Pier 47, and the Mojo Lounge; the Half Moon Bay Brewery; the Poor House Bistro in San Jose; and the Torch Club in Sacramento; he went on tour with Junior Watson, a Southern California guitarist who is little-known to a lot of blues fans but is revered by many fellow guitarists for his innovative jazz-imbued blues approach. And in 2006, Németh toured the US and Europe with Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets as a sub for Sam Myers, the band's ailing singer and harmonica man, who died later that year. He even got a chance to visit his father's hometown of Szmod, Hungary.

One of Németh's most memorable gigs with Funderburgh was at the Mississippi Delta Blues Festival in Greenwood, Mississippi. "It was a huge blues festival, and I would say it was almost a 99-percent black audience," he said. "Anson said, 'Don't be nervous, but I just want you to know they could care less what I'm gonna play on this guitar. It's your show. They love the singing. ...' It was great. It was one of the best audiences I've ever had the opportunity to perform for."

Blues and rock singer, pianist, and comedian Rev. Billy C. Wirtz brought Németh to the attention of Blind Pig, for whom he was then recording. Edward Chmelewski first heard Németh at Biscuits & Blues. "We saw this guy is a hell of a performer," he said. "He really knows how to put on a show. It's one thing to be a recording artist, but it's something else to be able to put that across on stage and connect with an audience."

After the release of his first Blind Pig CD, which was produced by Funderburgh and featured his band, Németh put together his own backing trio, featuring former Mark Hummel guitarist and keyboardist Bobby Welsh, and began crisscrossing the county in the singer's white 2006 Ford van. They were in San Jose two weeks ago, appeared in several Florida cities last week, and will return to Oakland on Friday to play Yoshi's.

Love Me Tonight, the new Blind Pig CD, was produced by the singer himself. Most of the songs are first takes that were recorded with few overdubs, other than Welsh's guitar, piano, and organ parts. Németh did second takes on some of his vocals but ended up leaving them in the can.

"I think one of the reasons why I do do a second take of vocals afterwards is because when I initially cut the song, I go for it," he explained. "Nothing's safe. I take all the chances in the world, like I do live, and it always seems to turn out fine." Elvin Bishop, who plays on two tracks of Love Me Tonight, has been one of Németh's biggest boosters. The guitarist featured Németh's singing on three tracks of his latest CD, The Blues Rolls On, and took him to Tulsa last October to perform on public radio's "A Prairie Home Companion."

"There's nothing not to like about the guy," Bishop said about Németh. "He's strong. He connects with the people. He's the real deal."

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All Music, January 2009
by Hal Horowitz

Blues and soul musicians noted for their harmonica skills usually aren't top notch vocalists or songwriters. There are a few exceptions of course; Little Walter and the Fabulous Thunderbirds' Kim Wilson come to mind, but generally those that put hours into learning the blues harp, don't spend as much effort perfecting their singing skills. That's what makes John Németh so special. He's a terrific player, blowing hard and heavy while punctuating the tracks with throbbing solos. But he's primarily a soulful vocalist, slinging out his emotional voice like a young Howard Tate. Blues veterans from Bob Margolin and Anson Funderburgh, the latter whose band he joined for a while after the death of Sam Myers, to Elvin Bishop (who appears on two cuts here), have lauded his skills and Németh's sophomore release for Blind Pig shows that his impressive 2007 label debut was no fluke. His singing has gained confidence and presence unusual for a relative newcomer. Better still, his songwriting has also advanced a few notches with the gospel laced "Fuel for the Fire" a ringer for a great old Southern soul track. It's not though. The tune is one of 10 newly penned songs that seem so authentic to the southern 60s R&B/blues genre you'll be shocked to find Németh's name as sole composer. There's only one cover, a raging take on the Falcons' "She's My Heart's Desire" which is faithful right down to a guitar solo straight out of the late Robert Ward's arsenal, that gives the original a powerful contemporary spin. A few selections such as "Too Good to Be True" punch out sing along choruses with pop hooks in under three minutes that would have been natural for 60s radio. Others such as the swamp stomping "Daughter of the Devil," which seems like a lost Howlin' Wolf B-side, take a little more time to build tension, but still pack a sizeable wallop in about four minutes. Németh never sounds less than committed to this material and often pushes the performances into the red zone with assistance from a sturdy backing quartet. Whether he's singing or working the harp, Németh is one of the finest young additions to the soul blues scene. He's a spiritual offspring of Curtis Salgado who treads similar territory, but his future is assured if he keeps releasing albums as powerful and consistent as this.

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BluesWax, January 2009
by Richard Ludmerer, Contributing Editor

John Németh possesses a maturity far beyond his years. Németh is a great harp player and also a great singer. His emotive voice has enough range to reach those high falsetto notes and when he does he sounds painfully real. Németh is also a great songwriter and on Love Me Tonight, his second recording for Blind Pig, he gives us eleven new songs of which he has written ten.

Németh also has an ear for talent because having a new band might have set him back. On guitar (and keyboards) is Bobby Welsh; on drums is June Core, whose credits include Little Charlie and The Nightcats; and on bass is Dmitry Gorodetsky (formerly with Roomful of Blues) or Kedar Roy.

The album opens with the title track "Love Me Tonight." It is modeled after a familiar R&B riff. June Core's drumming holds it together while Welsh's guitar line and short solo are commanding. Németh's voice is in fine form. "Just Like You" is a well written song. "I'm a rebel baby, just like you," it's a catchy line and the background vocals work well. Welsh's slide solo kicks it up and Németh comes in on harp and carries this one home.

The highlights then begin to pile up. "Fuel For Your Fire" is destined to be a classic. Németh's vocals on this and on "Too Good To Be True" are perfect. Welsh's guitar on the latter almost jumps off the recording. The most soulful original on the album is when Németh sings "My Troubled Mind." "Where You Been" opens with Németh on chromatic harp while Gorodetsky excels on bass. "She's My Hearts Desire" and "Love Gone Crazy" are two more highlights; the later features Németh again on harp. Elvin Bishop guests on "Daughter of The Devil" while Németh sings through the harp mike. Bishop's guitar gives them a funkier sound. Bishop also plays guitar on "Country Boy."

The album closes with "Blues in My Heart." Németh literally sings his heart out while Welsh, Core, and Gorodetsky become the John Németh Band. John Németh is without a doubt one of the most exciting young talents to emerge in many years. This album adds to his legacy.

* To learn more about BluesWax, or to subscribe to their free E-zine, visit their web site BluesWax.com.

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Blues Blast, February 2009
by James "Skyy Dobro" Walker

Allow me to repeat myself: "When it comes to the best young, white, contemporary blues singers, John Németh and Andrew Duncanson of The Kilborn Alley Blues Band are in the top five with Németh holding my personal list's number one spot." It is Németh's vocal versatility and power that secured the top spot.

That fact alone is enough to categorize this CD as a "must buy." But, it becomes a "must buy/order today" album when one adds to the equation Németh's harmonica mastery, melodic genius, songwriting, and band line up including guitar (and keyboards) whiz Robert Welsh. On drums is June Core, whose credits include Little Charlie and The Nightcats; and on bass is Dmitry Gorodetsky (formerly with Roomful of Blues) or Kedar Roy. Guests are Elvin Bishop on guitar for two numbers and background vocalists: Ed Earley, Steve Willis, and CD engineer and assistant producer, Kid Andersen.

Robert Welsh first knocked me out at the 2007 Mississippi Valley Blues Festival in Davenport, IA when he played guitar behind leader Mark Hummel on chromatic harp, and harp guest James Harman. Then he played keyboards behind Paul Oscher. Playing scorching leads when one was thrown his way and fills on guitar like a keyboardist, Welsh was impressively versatile and amazingly competent no matter whom he was supporting. He was back at the MVBF in 2008 on keyboards with John Németh and guitarist Junior Watson.

This self-produced CD contains intricate arrangements that reveal more with each listen. For example, check track seven, "Where You Been." Woven together tightly in three minutes are chromatic harmonica, a creative bass line, solid rhythmic organ and drumming and clever guitar work that blends retro and modern tones into compelling music that is just wonderful. Another example is track nine, "Love Gone Crazy" featuring some of Németh's best harp.

For his second Blind Pig release, the award winning Németh, originally from Idaho and currently living in California's Bay area, pointedly continues to capture the inspired sounds of the 1950s and 1960s. Bringing thoughts of Jackie Wilson, the CD reinvigorates the sounds of vintage American R&B. Revealing rapidly maturing songwriting skills, John has crafted ten of the eleven songs by drawing on the classic soul, blues, and R&B influences.

You'll know exactly what I mean when the first song and title track opens in a familiar Stax Records style. Studio layering allows a completely full sound without, thankfully, a bank of needless horns. If Welsh's 15 second guitar solo had appeared on 1960s radio, Baby Boomers would, today, be waiting for that passage every time the song played as a "golden oldie."

Speaking of stick-in-your-mind guitar hooks, wait until you hear Welsh's ten second opening to track two, "Just Like You." Németh's harmonica harmonizes near the end before John launches into goose bump vocals, "I know, I know, You no good." Again, Welsh's mid-song solo is so good that John literally screams. Following John's own killer harp solo, his powerful vocals go into higher register to convince this woman that he can be "...trouble, too...just like you."

Sing-along fans will love the chorus on the Southern soul styled "Fuel for Your Fire" and the hook saturated "Too Good To Be True."

For all the promise of Elvin Bishop on guest guitar, "Daughter of the Devil" is an odd misstep. The rhythm is boomy and the vocals are strangely thin and buried in the back. Bishop comes through nicely, however, on the much stronger "Country Boy."

Coming right back soulfully, "My Troubled Mind" features some of Németh's most emotive soul while Welsh's string bending and note stretching are in classic territory.

The only cover is a powerful version of "She's My Heart's Desire" by The Falcons. Welsh recapitulates the guitar solo of the late Robert Ward while Németh, with backing vocals, delivers the goods in pure voice.

"Blues in My Heart" is a great closer, slowly wrapping up the set with one more taste of each ingredient. When John sings early on, "I've got the blues in my heart; deep down in my soul," he sounds like a young Buddy Guy at his hungriest.

Since John Németh slew critics with his dazzling Blind Pig debut album, "Magic Touch," the buzz surrounding this highly talented and gifted artist turned to ecstatic noise. "Love Me Tonight" confirms that the Blues Blast Music Awards he received last November, Best New Artist Debut and The Sean Costello Rising Star Award, were rightly awarded!

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San Francisco Bay Guardian, February 2009
by Todd Lavoie

That voice: Bay bluesman John Németh entreats "Love Me Tonight."

Given the frugality of the blues as an art form, it seems only fair that I introduce Bay Area harmonica-slinging bluesman John Németh without a single wasted word: the man can sing. Sure, he breathes plenty of soul and fire into that harp of his, but ultimately it's his voice which makes the most indelible impact—moving nimbly from growl to howl to full-bellied hoot 'n' holler, sometimes within the same bar, it's a tremendous instrument.

Even more impressive: the vocalist, only in his early 30s, delivers with a level of authority expected from someone much older. Considering that the blues places such a deep emphasis on breadth of life experience, Németh's ability to sound older than his actual age is a valuable asset. That being said, it's his extensive vocal range which gets noticed first; coming across as a young scrapper in one moment and a wizened front-stoop sage in the next, he certainly can surprise.

Lastly, in a genre in which authenticity is highly prized, it's worth noting that Németh's compositions feel—to put it simply—very real. The disc could easily—and understandably—be mistaken for a collection of covers of '50s and '60s southern R&B and blues jukebox numbers, but lo and behold, a quick scan of the liner notes reveals that only a single track dates from that period. Everything else here was written by the star of this show.

Confession time: I know very little about contemporary blues artists. My tastes lean heavily towards the classic old blues touchstones (John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, Robert Johnson), and the current crop of rough-and-ready rabble-rousers messin' with the notion of blues (the Black Keys, the White Stripes, Holly Golightly), and some of the British Invasion stuff in between. For this reason, I can't come up with very many contemporary reference points for what Németh is doing, but one name does spring to mind: James Hunter.

Much like the current leading English proponent of classic '50s/'60s R&B, Németh also specializes in faithfully evoking that golden era. Love Me Tonight is bestowed with a crisp, uncluttered production, rich in trebly goodness. The rhythms—courtesy of drummer June Core and bassist Kedar Roy—are forceful but not overpowering, and Bobby Welsh's guitar work is a lovely counterpart for the soulful testimonials on offer here. The occasional use of a backing-vocal trio does a fine job of recreating a classic Southern vibe—some horns would have been perfect.

Overall, it's a quite convincing immersion into an older era, which makes the contemporary-looking album cover a bit of a surprise, to be honest. Not that big of a deal, mind you, but worth mentioning in view of the fact that some folks do take things at face value.

The opening title track is a thumping, hot-and-bothered celebration of "getting back to the basics of love," flush with glowing organ whirrs (Bobby Welsh) and a few rowdy falsetto howls from Németh—a fun introduction, but its followup is considerably stronger. "Just Like You" prowls and shuffles with a hi-hat-heavy hip-wiggling rhythm and a stalking bassline—and the chicken-scratch guitar funk at the song's end is wonderfully greasy. Németh's yelps and woos bristle with emotion, much like they do throughout the disc—but here, it is the harmonica which steals the show, thanks to a dazzling slow-building solo which heightens the drama by duking it out with the drummer.

"Fuel for Your Fire," with its swinging midtempo roll and sparkling keyboard give-and-take, is pure Dixie gospel soul - the addition of the backing trio helps immeasurably, but even without them the song would be one of the disc's most stirring moments. Németh's lead here is smooth and inspired, warm and tender, offering words of wisdom and comfort to those in moments of struggle and strife:

"When you get sick, throw it in the fire
When you get tricked, throw it in the fire
When your heart aches, throw it in the fire
When you miss your breaks, throw it in the fire
...and watch it burn."

A couple of the more straightforward electric blues numbers—"Where You Been" and "Love Gone Crazy"—aren't so much my cup of tea, but that might just be a reflection of my own personal preferences. However, I loved the disc's remake of "She's My Heart's Desire," an old chestnut from the late-'50s/early '60s gospel/R&B group the Falcons. Németh's on fire here, howling and crooning with conviction over a spot-on doo-wop backing trio. Welsh's jittery, jagged electric guitar repartee helps immensely as well, and his now-or-never piano accompaniment elevates the melodrama further.

As much of an anomaly as it is compared to the rest of the disc, "Daughter of the Devil" benefits from nicely echoed vocal treatments and a rumbling, low-bubbling shaker-powered rhythm—the results are alluringly swampy. Lastly, with its easygoing electric piano and guitar call-and-response serving as a reflective backdrop for Németh's soulful tenor, "My Troubled Mind" evokes a little bit of early Van Morrison, circa Moondance (Warner Bros., 1970). And how's this for a bluesy couplet: "I need time to meditate / or self-medicate."

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