The reason Steve Croppers band is called The Midnight Hour is because Steve co-wrote the song, In The Midnight Hour, that has been a huge hit for several different artists, with Wilson Picket who originally recorded the song. Apart from Wilson Picket, Cropper also worked with Otis Redding, co-writing and producing (Sitting On The) Dock Of The Bay, he also worked with Bill Withers, Albert King and a huge number of other legends. Away from Stax Records Cropper has worked with Jeff Beck, John Cougar, Paul Simon, Ringo Starr, Buddy Guy, Elton John, John Lennon and Steppenwolf. On top of all that awesomeness, Steve was also a member of The Blues Brothers Band, the list of amazing accomplishments just goes on and on.
As you would imagine Cropper has got together some interesting artists to help him out on this album; Billy F Gibbons plays lead Guitar, Tim Montana provides Guitar, Drums on one track were provided by Simon Kirke formally of Free and Bad Company, and Queen Guitarist Brian May plays Guitar and sings on one song. In addition to these guests the album features Jon Tiven on Bass and Co-production, Nioshi Jackson on Drums and Percussion and Roger C Reale on Vocals who all performed on Steve Cropper And The Midnight Hour’s first album.
The album opens with the title track, Friendlytown, a purposeful piece of mid-paced Blues, the lyrics are nice and positive, there are some great Guitar riffs, some very nice Brass and a very good melodic Guitar solo, great start! Next comes the song Too Much Stress featuring Brian May on Guitar and Vocals, Brian's voice works very well in this duet, and the song is a great Rock and Roll boogie full of amazing guitar (what else?) and has a fantastic chorus and some fine Backing Vocals near the end.
Hurry Up Sundown is a great, fun, funky tune. There is some wonderful Brass and great funky Guitar riffs. The song is great fun, it’ll put a big smile on your face and will make your feet move. Next comes a track called Lets Get Started, a great piece of up-tempo Blues / Blues Rock. It’s got a great stomping tempo, a wonderful chorus and a very effective and melodic Guitar solo. Next comes a song about Politics called Liars Crooks & Clowns, with Cropper showing contempt for the deeply corrupt duopoly of American Politics. The song is full of the cynicism you get from following politics for years and being aware of how much you have been lied too. The song is a great piece of Blues with a pulsing Bassline.
Next we get the track I'll Take Tomorrow, a very soft and gentle Blues track. It’s slow, minimal and subtle, and just drips with melodic melancholy. Lay It On Down is a great piece of melodic Soul. The song has measured Verse and an up-tempo chorus with some great Brass work. You Can't Refuse is a driving short Blues / Blues Rock song, it’s a great track to strut too and has a fun Guitar solo.
Rain On My Parade is a wonderful little soul track. It has a similar energy to The Commodores song I’m Easy, with some very good Brass work and a very expressive and melodic Guitar solo. There's Always A Catch brings the Funk back. A wonderful driving Bassline pushes everything forward and, as you would expect the song has some great Brass on it and the whole thing just struts about being Funky as all fuck. In God We Trust is a mid-paced Blues track, it’s about religion and money grabbing Preachers, kind of a bluesy Send Me Your Money or Miracle Man. Reality Check is a great up-tempo Blues / Blues Rock track with a great stomping tempo and great chorus.
Friendlytown comes to a close with the song I Leave You In Peace, a soft and gentle Blues track. The song is a great way to end the album, it does what it says on the tin: it Leaves You In Peace.
Steve Cropper has written, produced, and played on so many amazing albums and classic, important songs, he is probably incapable of making a bad album. When he gets lots of other incredibly talented musicians involved and then on top of that adds guests of the calibre of Brian May or Billy F Gibbons you get what Friendlytown is; a fantastic album, full of great songs, wonderful choruses, brilliant solos, strutting riffs superb brass, cracking soul, and some great melancholic blues. To be honest, considering Steve’s history a fantastic album is what I expected, however by anyone else’s standards this album is stunning, and is yet another triumph to add to Steve Croppers huge list of other triumphs. 9/10
As you would imagine Cropper has got together some interesting artists to help him out on this album; Billy F Gibbons plays lead Guitar, Tim Montana provides Guitar, Drums on one track were provided by Simon Kirke formally of Free and Bad Company, and Queen Guitarist Brian May plays Guitar and sings on one song. In addition to these guests the album features Jon Tiven on Bass and Co-production, Nioshi Jackson on Drums and Percussion and Roger C Reale on Vocals who all performed on Steve Cropper And The Midnight Hour’s first album.
The album opens with the title track, Friendlytown, a purposeful piece of mid-paced Blues, the lyrics are nice and positive, there are some great Guitar riffs, some very nice Brass and a very good melodic Guitar solo, great start! Next comes the song Too Much Stress featuring Brian May on Guitar and Vocals, Brian's voice works very well in this duet, and the song is a great Rock and Roll boogie full of amazing guitar (what else?) and has a fantastic chorus and some fine Backing Vocals near the end.
Hurry Up Sundown is a great, fun, funky tune. There is some wonderful Brass and great funky Guitar riffs. The song is great fun, it’ll put a big smile on your face and will make your feet move. Next comes a track called Lets Get Started, a great piece of up-tempo Blues / Blues Rock. It’s got a great stomping tempo, a wonderful chorus and a very effective and melodic Guitar solo. Next comes a song about Politics called Liars Crooks & Clowns, with Cropper showing contempt for the deeply corrupt duopoly of American Politics. The song is full of the cynicism you get from following politics for years and being aware of how much you have been lied too. The song is a great piece of Blues with a pulsing Bassline.
Next we get the track I'll Take Tomorrow, a very soft and gentle Blues track. It’s slow, minimal and subtle, and just drips with melodic melancholy. Lay It On Down is a great piece of melodic Soul. The song has measured Verse and an up-tempo chorus with some great Brass work. You Can't Refuse is a driving short Blues / Blues Rock song, it’s a great track to strut too and has a fun Guitar solo.
Rain On My Parade is a wonderful little soul track. It has a similar energy to The Commodores song I’m Easy, with some very good Brass work and a very expressive and melodic Guitar solo. There's Always A Catch brings the Funk back. A wonderful driving Bassline pushes everything forward and, as you would expect the song has some great Brass on it and the whole thing just struts about being Funky as all fuck. In God We Trust is a mid-paced Blues track, it’s about religion and money grabbing Preachers, kind of a bluesy Send Me Your Money or Miracle Man. Reality Check is a great up-tempo Blues / Blues Rock track with a great stomping tempo and great chorus.
Friendlytown comes to a close with the song I Leave You In Peace, a soft and gentle Blues track. The song is a great way to end the album, it does what it says on the tin: it Leaves You In Peace.
Steve Cropper has written, produced, and played on so many amazing albums and classic, important songs, he is probably incapable of making a bad album. When he gets lots of other incredibly talented musicians involved and then on top of that adds guests of the calibre of Brian May or Billy F Gibbons you get what Friendlytown is; a fantastic album, full of great songs, wonderful choruses, brilliant solos, strutting riffs superb brass, cracking soul, and some great melancholic blues. To be honest, considering Steve’s history a fantastic album is what I expected, however by anyone else’s standards this album is stunning, and is yet another triumph to add to Steve Croppers huge list of other triumphs. 9/10
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