JD McPherson | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Known for his highly resonant voice and vintage-inspired sound that nods to 40s R&B; and 50s rock & roll, JD McPherson has cut a distinctive path on the roots and Americana scenes. McPherson initially broke through with his propulsive 2010 single "North Side Gal" off his debut Signs & Signifiers. Pairing with bassist/producer Jimmy Sutton, he quickly built a rabid following, and drew critical praise for his soulful analog aesthetic. Subsequent albums, like 2015s Let the Good Times Roll, and 2017s Undivided Heart & Soul, continued to find McPherson building upon his old-school passions while showcasing ever-more stylistically adventurous collaborations with contemporaries like Lucius, Dan Auerbach, and Nicole Atkins. Born in rural Buffalo Valley, Oklahoma, in 1977, McPherson grew up listening to a wide array of music from traditional country and rockabilly to punk and hip-hop. Although music was always an interest, the singer first worked on his familys cattle ranch and later earned a Masters degree in open media from Tulsa University, eventually teaching and receiving attention for his video art installations. It was while performing with the Tulsa-based roots ensemble the Starkweather Boys that his classic style caught the ear of Chicago retro-rock impresario Jimmy Sutton. He backed Sutton for a few shows and formulated an idea for his own solo project. In 2010, he released his solo debut, the Sutton-produced Signs & Signifiers (featuring the single "North Side Gal"), on Hi-Style Records. The video for the "North Side Gal" went viral and, along with a heavy touring schedule, helped build McPhersons fan base. Two years later, Signs & Signifiers was re-released to a wider audience on Rounder Records and ultimately reached number 47 on the Billboard Rock Albums chart. That same year, McPherson was invited to join acclaimed British singer/songwriter Nick Lowe on a leg of his West Coast tour. McPherson then whet fans appetites with a 2014 covers EP before returning in 2015 with his sophomore full-length album, the Mark Neil-produced Let the Good Times Roll. Included on the album was the single "Bossy," as well as the track "Bridgebuilder," co-written with the Black Keys Dan Auerbach. Well received, the album landed at number 17 on Billboards Top Rock Albums chart. In 2017, McPherson returned with his third full-length album, Undivided Heart & Soul. Recorded in Nashvilles historic RCA Studio B with Lucius drummer Dan Molad producing, the album found McPherson exploring a fuzztone, 60s-style R&B.; Featured on the album are collaborations with Butch Walker, Parker Millsap, and Aaron Lee Tasjan. Also featured are guest spots from Lucius singers Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig, Nicole Atkins, and the Raconteurs guitarist Jack Lawrence. Included on the album are the singles "Cryings Just a Thing That You Do" and "Lucky Penny." McPhersons first-ever holiday-themed album, Socks, arrived in 2018. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 5 Title: Signs & Signifiers Released: 2010 Tracks: 12 Duration: 34:40 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 North Side Gal (02:31) 2 Country Boy (02:44) 3 Firebug (02:18) 4 Signs & Signifiers (04:46) 5 Wolf Teeth (02:57) 6 Scratching Circles (02:10) 7 A Gentle Awakening (03:26) 8 Dimes for Nickels (02:43) 9 B.G.M.O.S.R.N.R. (02:59) 10 I Cant Complain (02:37) 11 Your Love (All Im Missing) (03:01) 12 Scandalous (02:28) |
| Signs & Signifiers : Allmusic album Review : Singer/songwriter JD McPhersons 2010 debut album, Signs & Signifiers, is a rockin, bluesy, forward-thinking album that subtly breaks the conventions of most vintage rock projects. Produced and recorded with the retro expertise of bassist/guitarist Jimmy Sutton, the album is a gold mine of 50s-inspired rock and R&B;, with some rockabilly twang thrown in for maximum effect. That said, McPherson actually draws from a wide and eclectic array of influences including Son House, Charlie Feathers, the Wu-Tang Clan, and sundry blues and soul artists from Guitar Slim to Sam Cooke. The through-line that ties all of these influences together is McPhersons powerful and robust voice, which balances the shouter style of mid-century legends like Lloyd Price with a smoother, more controlled approach that falls somewhere between Gene Vincent and Clyde McPhatter. McPherson is a singer/songwriter in the truest sense, and his original tunes are a cut above the average retro-rockabilly artist both melodically and lyrically. Such songs as the driving, Twist-ready leadoff single, "North Side Gal," and the explosive album closer, "Scandalous," bring to mind jukebox-fueled impromptu dance parties. Which isnt to say McPherson is merely interested in old-school sounds. On the contrary, tunes like the bluesy, spiritual-inspired title track (which borrows the Smiths oscillating guitar intro from "How Soon Is Now") and the soul-blues dirge "A Gentle Awakening" with its symphonic strings and piano background bring to mind classic 60s cuts by Ray Charles, as well as contemporary numbers by Alicia Keys. The album does benefit greatly from the vintage, live-recording aesthetic that Sutton and engineer Alex Hall have perfected over the years with other similarly inclined bands like the Four Charms and the Del Moroccos. It also doesnt hurt that McPherson is backed here by a bevy of roots musicians including drummer Hall, saxophonist Jonathan Doyle, guitarist Joel Paterson, and others. Ultimately, as the albums conceptual title implies, Signs & Signifiers paints a picture of McPherson as a kind of post-structuralist retro-rocker, living in the moment with one boot in the past and the other boot in the future. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 5 Title: The Warm Covers EP Released: 2014-10-14 Tracks: 4 Duration: 11:51 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 I Wish You Would (02:44) 2 Steal Away (03:08) 3 Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day (02:59) 4 Why Lady Why (03:00) |
 | Album: 3 of 5 Title: Let the Good Times Roll Released: 2015-02-09 Tracks: 11 Duration: 36:16 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Let the Good Times Roll (03:04) 2 Bossy (03:18) 3 Its All Over but the Shouting (03:03) 4 Bridgebuilder (03:56) 5 It Shook Me Up (02:25) 6 Head Over Heels (03:17) 7 Shy Boy (02:54) 8 You Must Have Met Little Caroline? (03:35) 9 Precious (04:53) 10 Mother of Lies (03:36) 11 Everybodys Talking Bout the All-American (02:11) |
| Let the Good Times Roll : Allmusic album Review : Trumpeted by the flagship single "North Side Gal," JD McPherson burst onto the roots music scene in 2010 with his debut album, Signs & Signifiers. Blessed with an angelically resonant voice and a vintage analog production sound (the latter courtesy of bassist/collaborator/studio guru Jimmy Sutton), McPherson had boiled his take on rock & roll down to the essentials. Using those timeless elements, combined with his literate, art school-informed songwriting aesthetic (he carries an M.F.A. from the University of Tulsa), McPherson at once codified and recontextualized a purist mid-century ethos that had been brewing among rockabilly, old-school R&B;, and car-culture fanatics since at least the 1980s. All of which brings us to his sophomore full-length album, 2015s Let the Good Times Roll. Produced by Mark Neill (who previously helmed similarly inclined albums from the Paladins, Los Straitjackets, and the Black Keys), Let the Good Times Roll is a purposeful companion piece to Signs & Signifiers, showcasing a bigger, more dynamic sound than its predecessor, full of atmospheric plate reverb, juke-joint rhythms, spine-tingling piano lines, verdant horn sections, and even more densely packed guitar twang and strut. And, as always, at the center is McPhersons voice, a wailing croon that sounds as contemporary as Bruno Mars, even as it raises the romantic specter of Jackie Wilson. Its this ability to reference the past (even his own recent past) while remaining firmly lodged in the present that colors everything McPherson does. Even the Dan Auerbach co-write "Bridgebuilder" sounds improbably like an 80s blue-eyed soul song by Britains Squeeze if recorded in Memphis in 1958. The juxtaposition is explicit in the albums title track, as easily a reference to Louis Jordans 1946 classic as to the Cars 1978 single. The song even finds McPherson repurposing the roiling, triplet snare-drum intro of "North Side Gal," in what amounts to a postmodern nod to pop culture sequelization and a direct response to the overwhelming success of Signs & Signifiers. Hes basically saying "Yall remember this? Well, lets keep this party going!" Despite that sentiment, however, the album doesnt rely solely on uptempo rippers à la "North Side Gal." The heart of Let the Good Times Roll lies more in the slinky, midtempo, hip-grinding quality of cuts like "Its All Over But the Shouting," "Head Over Heels," and "Shy Boy." And its not just McPhersons vocals or arranging skills that raise the bar, as he turns traditional rock lyrics into poetry on "It Shook Me Up," opining in his best Little Richard snarl, "Didnt do nothing but hem and haw/Didnt stick a piece of paper in the Wailing Wall/And I didnt find a stranger worth talking to/And I didnt get some time with you." Let the Good Times Roll is definitely the second coming of the rock & roll savior that fans prayed would follow Signs & Signifiers. And as the title implies, its also one hell of a good time. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 5 Title: Undivided Heart & Soul Released: 2017-10-06 Tracks: 11 Duration: 40:22 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Desperate Love (02:56) 2 Crying’s Just a Thing You Do (03:14) 3 Lucky Penny (03:34) 4 Hunting for Sugar (04:15) 5 On the Lips (03:41) 6 Undivided Heart & Soul (03:18) 7 Bloodhound Rock (04:21) 8 Style (Is a Losing Game) (03:47) 9 Jubilee (04:41) 10 Under the Spell of City Lights (03:27) 11 Lets Get Out of Here While We’re Young (03:07) |
| Undivided Heart & Soul : Allmusic album Review : Early in the recording of his third full-length album, 2017s spirited Undivided Heart & Soul, JD McPherson paused the process to take Queens of the Stone Ages Josh Homme up on his offer to come jam at his studio in what amounted to a kind of creative jump-start -- a way to get the juices flowing again. While its unclear if anything they played made it onto Undivided Heart & Soul, it certainly sounds like it could have. Rife with gritty R&B; tones and a driving punk energy, the album sounds like something QOTSA might have made if theyd come into their own in the 60s garage rock era instead of the alt-rock 2000s. Which means, for longtime McPherson fans, the album feels both familiar and like a conscious attempt to shake things up; not a huge leap off the stylistic cliff, but a dance on the edge nonetheless. Recorded in Nashvilles historic RCA studio B with producer Dan Molad, Undivided Heart & Soul once again finds the Oklahoma-born belter joined by longtime bassist and collaborator Jimmy Sutton, as well as his regular touring lineup of pianist/organist Raynier Jacob Jacildo, drummer Jason Smay, and guitarist/saxophonist Doug Corcoran. Making guest appearances are Lucius Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig, Nicole Atkins, and Raconteurs guitarist Jack Lawrence. Also helping McPherson disrupt his own sound here are several songwriting collaborators including nervy pop stalwart Butch Walker, fellow Oklahoman Parker Millsap, and former Semi Precious Weapons-guitarist-turned Nashville-psych-singer/songwriter Aaron Lee Tasjan. The result is that McPhersons brand of vintage Americana sounds even more stylistically cross-pollinated. Cuts like the lushly romantic "Hunting for Sugar" and the driving "On the Lips" somehow touch upon classic Memphis and Chicago soul sides just as much as they evince 80s Squeeze and the edgy garage rock of the Strokes. Furthermore, while there are certainly a handful of well-honed chorus hooks here, tracks like the yearning "Jubilee" and the Tommy James-esque "Under the Spell of City Lights" deftly subvert anticipation with downplayed choruses that come just a hair later than youd expect. These are subtle shifts that speak to McPhersons ever-growing songcraft. Thankfully, what hasnt changed is his knack for crafting memorable pop hooks, as evidenced by the Eddie Cochran-esque groover "Cryings Just a Thing That You Do," and the acidically bluesy "Lucky Penny." Both are kinetic anthems that make great use of McPhersons highly resonant, bell-tone vocals and strikingly literate lyrics. A former art teacher who grew up on a ranch, McPherson has always distinguished himself as both imagistic poet and dirt-on-his-boots troubadour. Its a dichotomy that informs much of Undivided Heart & Soul. On "Cryings Just a Thing That You Do," he sings "Youre sipping your Darjeeling/And staring at the ceiling/You dream about it splitting in two," and later "I kinda held my head down for most of the ride/Skimming through Rossetti and Poe." Arty tropes aside, with Undivided Heart & Soul, McPherson continues to pull all of his varied stylistic influences together into his own vibrantly coherent brand of visceral, emotive rock that grabs you by the collar and demands your passion. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 5 Title: Socks Released: 2018-11-02 Tracks: 10 Duration: 30:02 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 All the Gifts I Need (02:44) 2 Bad Kid (03:14) 3 Hey Skinny Santa! (02:54) 4 Socks (03:33) 5 Every Single Christmas (02:27) 6 Ugly Sweater Blues (02:56) 7 Holly, Carol, Candy & Joy (03:24) 8 Santa’s Got a Mean Machine (02:34) 9 What’s That Sound? (02:33) 10 Claus Vs. Claus (03:39) |