Johnny Hoy & The Bluefish - Trolling The Hootchy

Year: 1995
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:27
Size: 108,1 MB
Styles: Electric blues, harmonica blues
Scans: Full

1. Close To You (3:41)
2. Little Upsetter (3:31)
3. Cut That Out (2:43)
4. Johnny McEldoo (2:20)
5. No More Doggin' (4:39)
6. Young & Restless (3:31)
7. Must Be Love (3:17)
8. Hidden Charms (3:18)
9. Got A Little Problem (3:41)
10. Got You On My Mind (3:59)
11. Find Somebody To Love (3:34)
12. Howlin' For My Darling (4:27)
13. Tennessee Waltz (3:39)

The official blues party band of Martha's Vineyard steps up to the plate with this debut disc featuring 13 tunes from the band's voluminous set list, including four originals from the pen of bandleader/harmonica man Johnny Hoy. Johnny's wife Barbara plays a rock-solid, nuthin'-fancy bass that drives the rhythm section, even with no less than three different players occupying the drum stool during the recording of this session. Jeremy Berlin's boogie piano is exceptionally fine, and he just may be the secret weapon on this album.

Co-producer Danny Kortchmar contributes great guitar on six tracks, while Buck Shank provides a twangier approach on "Little Upsetter," "Johnny McEldoo," "Young and Restless," "Hidden Charms" and a duet between the Hoys on Willie Dixon's "Howlin' for My Darling." The originals stand up nicely against the set staples, and the singing is fresh and invigorating (particularly compelling is Hoy's chromatic turn on "Tennessee Waltz"), making this one potent party album. /Cub Koda, AllMusic

(For personnel details, see artwork included.)

Trolling The Hootchy mc
Trolling The Hootchy zippy

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Johnny Hoy & The Bluefish - You Gonna Lose Your Head

Year: 1996
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:15
Size: 120,5 MB
Styles: Modern electric blues
Scans: Full

1. You Better Listen (3:35)
2. Glad She's Gone (2:29)
3. Made For One Another (4:35)
4. Stand Tall (3:04)
5. Gong, Gong (3:32)
6. Believer's Blues (3:58)
7. I Want To See Her (3:19)
8. Mellow Chick Swing (4:08)
9. Red Door (3:07)
10. Beer Bellied Man (2:38)
11. I Ain't Got No Home (4:16)
12. Nobody Else (3:07)
13. Can't Stand To Sleep Alone (3:38)
14. Just To Be With You (6:45)

The Hoys (singer/songwriter/harmonica ace Johnny and his rock-solid bass-playing partner, Barbara Puciul Hoy) get way more adventurous on their second album with a brace of fresh tunes and finely picked covers. Johnny wrote nine of the 14 tracks on here and demonstrates a big jump forward in the songwriting department with "Beer Bellied Man", "Red Door" and "Made for One Another", heading the band into new waters this time around. Great covers of Lazy Lester's "You Better Listen", John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson's "Mellow Chick Swing" and Muddy Waters' "Just to Be With You" are worthy additions to the track lineup. While Jeremy Berlin's fine piano is still aboard, but the infusion of new blood in the ranks (Slim Bob Berosh on guitar for five tracks and Tauras Biskis kicking the drums around steadily) makes this second effort far more fun and interesting than the debut disc, showing that here's a band in it for the long haul. The party just keeps getting better. /Cub Koda, AllMusic

You Gonna Lose Your Head mc
You Gonna Lose Your Head zippy

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Johnny Hoy & The Bluefish - The Dance

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 49:38
Size: 113.6 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Year: 2014
Art: Front

[3:06] 1. Don't Start Crying Now
[4:46] 2. Daddy Right
[5:27] 3. Dancing Danny O
[3:01] 4. The Dance
[3:36] 5. Rolled And Tumbled
[3:08] 6. Bring It Back
[3:43] 7. I've Got A Secret
[4:49] 8. She Belongs To Me
[4:05] 9. Everything You Said
[3:08] 10. Greasy Rooster
[4:44] 11. What's The Story With Time
[6:00] 12. Cold

Formed in 1991, the band has evolved through many incarnations, three Tone Cool and two self-produced CDs, trips around the world as far as South Africa and mostly the joys of playing a lot of music on Martha's Vineyard where most of them live. Johnny juggles a full life where he takes advantage of his many skills including stone masonry, fishing, antique dealing, farming. Somehow he manages to do all the gigs as well. He came to the Island in 1978, after soaking up Muddy Waters' and Tom Waits' shows as a teenager.

Buck Shank, guitar, longtime member of the band, looks and sounds like he's playing his last solo every time he steps up. He brings so much emotion, joy and grit to the stage, and his rhythm playing helps drive the bus.

Jeremy Berlin, the piano player has been with the band for most of its life - since the summer of '93. He's played duets with President Clinton, and Carly Simon - he's not afraid of anything, and he plays it all. The band started out as a four-piece with no piano, became a five-piece for several years, and then returned to a four-piece configuration, this time with no bass, and it's been that way for over 10 years. They even play as a three piece without guitar. Jeremy's connection with the Island started before he was born and he's been there on and off ever since.

Chris Anzalone, the drummer, came aboard in 2000, a veteran of the Boston scene and such bands as The Radio Kings and he and Jeremy have been the rhythm section all along. He stays around Boston - we can't make him move down here. A real city boy. We call him Baby Dynamite.

The Dance mc
The Dance zippy

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Johnny Hoy & The Bluefish - Walk The Plank

Size: 122,1 MB
Time: 52:42
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1998
Styles: Modern Electric Blues, Blues Rock
Art: Front

01. Love Dog (3:56)
02. You You You (2:56)
03. A.T. (3:59)
04. Honkytonk Forgiveness (5:12)
05. I'm Tired (4:18)
06. If You Love Me (4:24)
07. P-Man (3:41)
08. Just Another Wheel (4:38)
09. Opelousas Sostan (2:16)
10. Howlin' For My Darling (4:37)
11. Back Where I Belong (3:08)
12. Rooster Walk (4:06)
13. Rocking My Life Away (5:28)

This is one of those bands whose roots are in blues, but they have moved and taken the music in many wonderful new directions. They take the blues base and mix it with country and honky tonk as on "Just Another Wheel," and the band shows they are aware of the prominent influence of southwestern Louisiana with a little Cajun two-stepping in "Opelousas Sostan." One of the main draws of this disc is that the players seem to be enjoying what they do. The solos are kept short and everyone seems to get their chance to step up to the mic and shine. They do shine as their playing and the overall sound is a good step up from the ordinary. ~Review by Bob Gottlieb

Walk The Plank

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