JASON RICCI & NEW BLOOD "DONE WITH THE DEVIL" Source: Juke Joint Soul Date: 08/2009 Writer: Ben the Harpman

Randy Chortkoff sure has a doozy of a label with Eclecto Groove. The work there is about as diverse as it comes in the roots music scene of today. Jason Ricci has been in the game for a few years now. He's known to many blues fans as the kid with the weird hair and clothes that can blow the hell out of a harmonica. To some, he's considered a true innovator of the instrument. His album, Rocket Number Nine received accolades in various publications and cemented his status in the music scene. Ricci has faced countless criticism from hardcore blues fans and publications both for his music and his lifestyle. He answers several of them in the liner notes to the disc. And, as being on the Eclecto label its not fair to say that this is what I would call a blues album either. It's just a man making his own music his own way. From the way it sounds, he's going to keep on doing it his way.

Yes, Ricci has gained some solid street credentials by hanging out in the Delta and the North Mississippi Hill Country with many we all would call bluesmen. Essentially, from what I've gathered, Ricci went there to gather some inspiration moreso than to hone chops or to gain yours and my trust that he was "just kidding around" with his last effort. No, Ricci and this album draws from several influences and several genres. Like some of his other contemporaries who have rubbed the blues world the wrong way, they find genre classification to be essentially insulting to music and to any listener's good taste. Be that as it may and all things aside, I'm not writing to defend Ricci's choices or merely his attitudes towards blues or the blues world. I'm merely setting things up for my review.

Musically, Ricci on this disc comes off better as an interpreter than he does as an innovator. For my ears, he knows how to get down and play traditional blues when he has a feeling to do so and it sounds great. He's a true master of his instrument. His live shows and this disc are full of energy and autobiographical content. He does bring some blues with a feeling. "Keep the Wolf From My Door" borrows heavily from the Blues Who's Who of Wolves - Howlin Wolf's "Spoonful" a little in melody and groove. "How It Come To Be" is some nasty Delta-styled stripped arrangements and is a testament of Ricci's knowledge of the music. The title track is Mississippi Hill Country with more of a rock edged rave up. Ricci isn't the greatest singer at all, in fact he's mid tier at best but its the pinache of the disc. From there, the blues on the disc is almost nonexistent.

I'll commend Ricci for a faithful Misfits cover here. I'm also a punk music fan when I'm not delving into the blues and pulling off Glenn Danzig-era Misfits with lightning fast velocity and the hell fury of a punk band is terribly hard to pull off, especially in this day and age of posers and wannabe punk bands. The band jumps from rock rave ups, to acid jazz (Afro Blue), to avant garde (Sun Ra's Enlightenment), to pop (Sweet Loving) and to autobiographical singer-songwriter tunes (Broken Toy). All in all, Ricci's harmonica playing and Shawn Starski's fits whatever mold for the song guitar work is the anchor to the disc. Ricci's harp playing at times is a little excessive for my taste. He's definitely a contemporary harpsmith willing to explore every depth of the song to get what he wants.

Blues fans will want to pick and choose here. Contemporary fans will find the disc enjoyable but a little bit manic for its approach. If Ricci can manage to make a disc that's a little less hyper than his personality sometime soon and pull in all the facets that make him a guy to watch, he'll manage to make a great record. For now, if his efforts just make art for art's sake and draw and pull from his variety of tastes; he'll gain fans for sure while alienating others. However, as Ricci's attitude demonstrates in his liner notes, he's expecting that and has an answer for you and for me if we don't like what we hear.