Product Description:
Personnel: Johnny "Guitar" Watson (vocals, guitar, Fender Rhodes piano, bass, drums, percussion); Walt Fowler, Albert Wing, Bruce Fowler (horns); Ron Brown (piano); Emery Thomas (drums, background vocals); Randie Redman, James Johnson, Rudy Copeland (background vocals).
Recorded at Paramount Recording Studios, Hollywood, California.
Recording information: 1980.
The follow-up to Johnny "Guitar" Watson's WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?, 1980's LOVE JONES continues in the wacky, funkier-than-thou vein of its predecessor. Standing in stark contrast to the singer/multi-instrumentalist's bluesy early work, this disc is slick, of-the-era R&B that careens from silly dance-floor workouts (the propulsive "Booty Ooty" and the hilarious "Telephone Bill") to velvety smooth ballads (the chiming title track) to absurdist mid-tempo numbers ("Close Encounters" and "Funky Blues"). Of particular note is the groove-laden Watson classic "Lone Ranger," which finds the fun-loving performer embarking on a wonderfully ridiculous scat solo while cruising along on a sea of burbling keyboard lines. Although many of Watson's '70s-funk contemporaries (Parliament, Ohio Players, etc.) were fading by this point, LOVE JONES finds the Texan jack-of-all-trades welcoming in the '80s with unrestrained energy, making it one of his most enjoyable outings.
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