Description
The New Moon Jelly Roll Freedom Rockers Volume 2 is replete with the same instinctual camaraderie and musicianly savvy as its predecessor. Likewise culled from sessions recorded in 2007, this sequel is decidedly not comprised of mere leftovers or otherwise sub-par tracks originally left unreleased. On the contrary, the alternately upbeat and reflective atmosphere reaffirms the realism and presence of Kevin Houston’s recording of these eleven cuts at the Zebra Ranch studios that were subsequently produced to authentic effect by this ad hoc band itself.
This whimsically named ensemble bonds through a shared devotion to the genre(s) they love. It should thus come as no surprise the deceptively informal outfit sounds as self-assured on the late Texas eclectic Doug Sahm’s seminal Tex-Mex “She’s About A Mover” as an the aptly-named original of harpist/vocalist Charlie Musselwhite‘ s that opens the album, “Blues For Yesterday.” And the impact of their respective fusions of spirit and style are undeniable, no matter who’s featured on any given track: the easy shuffle into which these six musicians slip for Jimbo Mathus‘ “Searchlight (Soon in the Morning)” kicks in just as this roughly fifty-some minutes begins to generate momentum and simultaneously also functions as an artful set-up to the melancholy likes of Charles Mingus‘ “Oh Lord Don’t Let Them Atomic Bomb On Me.”
