The Nick Moss Band Featuring Dennis Gruenling – Get Your Back Into It!
The Nick Moss Band Featuring Dennis Gruenling – Get Your Back Into It!
Format: CD – Vinyl LP
Label: Alligator Records
Release: 2023
Release date: July 14, 2023
The third Alligator release by one of the world’s top blues ensembles — The Nick Moss Band Featuring Dennis Gruenling
It’s called ‘Get Your Back Into It!,’ and it’s jammed with fourteen fresh, original songs inspired by the spirit of classic blues of the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s. Master guitarist/vocalist Nick Moss and harmonica giant/vocalist Dennis Gruenling have created new melodic concepts and contemporary lyrics that perfectly fit their vintage sound. In every song, you can hear the near-telepathic communication within the band, and feel the pure pleasure everyone had making this music. Get Your Back Into It! will be released on July 14, so we’d like you to hold reviews and airplay until close to that date.
Get Your Back Into It! was co-produced by Nick and another vital member of the band, Brazilian bassman Rodrigo Mantovani, and recorded at Nick’s own studio. Throughout the album, the musicians joyfully create the classic Chicago “conversational” ensemble sound, where each player contributes spontaneous musical exclamations and interjections, rather than playing set, rehearsed parts. The whole group’s wide-ranging talent is apparent on high-energy swinging jump blues like The Bait In The Snare, It Shocks Me Out, Man On The Move and Out Of The Woods, slow grinders like Aurelie, Living In Heartache and Lonely Fool, and even proto rock ‘n’ roll like Scratch And Sniff. The emotional opus The Solution is a tribute to venerated Chicago bluesman Jimmy Johnson, one of the city’s musical giants, who died last year at the age of 93.
Nick Moss and Dennis Gruenling have long been recognized as virtuoso players and among the most deeply rooted purveyors of old school, raw, electric blues. Nick, a proud Chicagoan, is a crucial figure in carrying on the Windy City blues style and sound that he learned from playing in the bands of blues legends like Jimmy “Fast Fingers” Dawkins, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith and Jimmy Rogers, (Muddy Waters’ guitar partner and a crucial creator of electrified Chicago Blues.) Nick is famed for the power and taste of his playing, getting to the essence of every song. He’s also a subtle, emotional singer who knows how to really deliver the story of the song. Dennis, growing up in New Jersey, didn’t have Nick’s apprenticeship with blues giants, but as his skills developed, he was counseled by harp icons James Cotton, Snooky Pryor and Sam Myers. Dennis is now known worldwide as one of the most exciting and powerful blues harmonica players, renowned for his huge tone and inventive improvisations.
The international blues community recognizes Nick and Dennis’ talent and their links to the earlier generations of bluesmen. They’ve been honored with Blues Music Awards (the Grammys of the Blues) for Traditional Blues Album, Band of the Year, Song of the Year, Traditional Blues Male Artist of the Year and Best Instrumentalist—Harmonica. They’ve toured across the U.S., Canada and Europe, including appearances in Germany, Austria, The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Norway and Denmark, and they’ll be tearing up the highway this summer and fall, introducing the new songs to their devoted audience.
Website: https://www.nickmossband.com/
Tracks:
01. The Bait In The Snare
02. Aurelie
03. Get Your Back Into It
04. Man On The Move
05. Living In Heartache
06. It Shocks Me Out
07. Out Of The Woods
08. Choose Wisely
09. Your Bark Is Worse Than Your Bite
10. Losing Ground
11. Bones’ Cantina
12. Lonely Fool
13. The Solution
14. Scratch ‘n’ Sniff
Nick Moss: Guitar, Vocals (except as noted), Foot on “Your Bark Is Worse Than Your Bite”
Dennis Gruenling: Harmonica, Vocals on “Man On The Move” and “Your Bark Is Worse Than Your Bite”
Taylor Streiff: Piano and Keyboards (except as noted)
Rodrigo Mantovani: Upright and Electric Bass, Percussion
Pierce Downer: Drums
with
“Sax” Gordon Beadle: Saxophones
“Brother” John Kattke: Organ on “Out Of The Woods”
The Nick Moss Band Featuring Dennis Gruenling: Background Vocals
