John the Conqueror
The Good Life
Reviewed by: Adam McGrath
Philly-based blues-rock trio John the Conqueror proves there is a story behind every legend on sophomore album The Good Life (Alive Naturalsound Records). Singer/guitarist Pierre Moore, drummer Michael Gardner, and bassist Ryan Lynn all sound more polished and focused this time around, and the results are fun and fiery, just like the band.
Hard-charging opener “Get ’Em” starts the album on a strong note, featuring Pierre Moore’s smoky voice and emphatic guitar licks. Like John the Conqueror’s best songs, “Get ’Em” evokes a whiskey-soaked bar where good times are buoyed by an undercurrent of potential violence. Moore excels at distilling personal stories with a darker edge into blues songs that nevertheless compel listeners to feel good and bop along.
Lead single “Waking Up To You” is a rollicking take on the seemingly endless one-night stands rock stars stumble into, and the song tellingly ends in an abrupt guitar solo. “Golden Rule” picks up on the spiritual side of the blues, exploring immemorial issues of sin and forgiveness. The fun kicks back in on “You Don’t Know,” Moore’s voice bathed in extra reverb and backed up efficiently by Gardner. The album gets dark again with the low-country moan of “Daddy’s Little Girl” and concludes in “She Said” with a mournful lament of love and drugs.
Moore penned all the songs on the album save a cover of Randy Newman’s “Burn Down the Cornfield,” the choice demonstrating a respect for the canon from which John the Conqueror draws. Classic blues structure meets hard rock energy on The Good Life, and we’ll all be living it with this album as a guide.
Rating: Bad-Ass
