Scorchin band

Have seen these guys 3 or 4 times and they never let you down. For those who don't know them they are a bot like ZZ Top at times, but otherwise are uniquely 4HJ. Bluesy rock with harp, gritty vocals, catchy toons and a guitarist called Brad Coffin who plays without a pick..... one of my fave bands.

A True American Band

There are times when all you need is just sweet, melodic music that soothes the savage beast within. And there are times when you need to let that savage beast roam free, living it up listening to riff-driven, gravel voiced, beer soaked rock and roll. And such for times of the beast Five Horse Johnson are the perfect band. The great thing about The Mystery Spot is the band opens up the sound a little more. Of Ditch Diggers and Drowning Men opens up with acoustic slide before going all heavy on us. Gin Clear lets the drums and bass do most of the driving with the guitar being atmospheric over the top. The stock four on the floor beat is a little looser as well. Call Me Down and the title track also flirt with white, funky albeit stonkin' beats. This is a seriously good American band with a seriously good album. They may not breaking any new ground but the ground they hoe sure is fertile.

Not even a minor stroke could stop Five Horse Johnson from rockin’ and, if anything, vocalist and harpist extraordinaire Eric Oblander’s brush with the beyond only served to inspire the band’s fifth album, 2006′s The Mystery Spot, that much more. Also benefiting from Clutch drummer Jean-Paul Gaster’s imposing guest appearance throughout (hear him take over “Ten-Cent Dynamite” with his outro solo), the record showcases a noticeably reinvigorated 5HJ — not really messing with their successful, rootsy hard rock formula, so much as tackling it with renewed appetite. Starting with the opening title track’s aggressive 5/6 blues shuffle, where Oblander’s raunchy vocal pays discreet homage to early, pre-Dada Captain Beefheart, and continuing through gritty stomps like “Feed That Train” and the energized “La Grange” groove of “I Can’t Shake It,” where his harmonica punctuates Brad Coffin’s geeetar-grit with soaring wails. Then there’s the evocatively named standout “Of Ditch Diggers and Drowning Men”; co-written with former Big Chief member Phil Durr (who also contributes second guitar), it is further fleshed out with slide guitars and organs for a laid-back, down-home sound the Black Crowes used to own the patent on. The remaining cuts do their aforementioned comrades ample justice, without necessarily guaranteeing themselves a spot on future set lists, but The Mystery Spot’s overall consistency and reliable sonic qualities (bottom line: few bands pull this music off so well) still offer Five Horse Johnson fans plenty of reasons to celebrate their return. – Eduardo Rivadavia

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Hard Core

Sharpthangs

Great stuff. "Ten Cent Dynamite" and "Of Ditch Diggers and Drowning Men" are my faves.

Pitch your wang dang doodle here

SelfRisinMojo

Another Howling Wolf/Billy Gibbons style vocalist rides herd over some smoking riff rocking boogie.Imagine Tres Hombres ZZ Top mixed with Rocks era Aerosmith and your heart rate may be sufficiently pumping to saddle up and go.