Brother Johnny

Last updated

Brother Johnny
Brother Johnny.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 15, 2022 (2022-04-15)
Studio
Genre Blues rock
Label Quarto Valley Records
Producer
Edgar Winter chronology
Rebel Road
(2008)
Brother Johnny
(2022)

Brother Johnny is a studio album by American musician Edgar Winter. It was released on April 15, 2022, via Quarto Valley Records. Recording sessions took place at Capitol Studios and at EastWest Studios in Hollywood, and at Infinite Spin Recorders. Production was handled by Ross Hogarth and Winter himself, with Bruce Quarto serving as executive producer. It features contributions from Andrew Duckles, Billy Gibbons, Bill Payne, Bobby Rush, Bob Glaub, Charlie Bisharat, David Grissom, Derek Trucks, Doug Rappoport, Doyle Bramhall II, Gregg Bissonette, Harry Kim, Jacob Braun, Joe Bonamassa, Joe Walsh, John McFee, Josefina Vergara, Keb' Mo', Kenny Aronoff, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Michael McDonald, Phil X, Ringo Starr, Robben Ford, Sean Hurley, Stephen Kupka, Steve Lukather, Taylor Hawkins, Tim Pierce, Waddy Wachtel, Warren Haynes and Wayne Bergeron.

Contents

The album peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Current Album Sales, number 33 on the Top Album Sales, and topped the Top Blues Albums chart in the United States. It also reached number 6 on the Swiss Hitparade, and topped the UK Official Jazz & Blues Albums Chart Top 30. On February 5, 2023, it won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards. It was ranked as the #18 best guitar album of 2022 by Guitar World readers. [1]

The album is served as a tribute album to musician and Edgar Winter's brother, Johnny Winter, who had died on July 16, 2014, in Switzerland at the age of 70.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 69/100 [2]
Review scores
SourceRating
American Songwriter 3.5/5 [3]
Classic Rock Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [4]
laut.de Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Mojo Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
The Telegraph Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]

Brother Johnny was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 69, based on four reviews. [2]

Writing for The Telegraph , Neil McCormick wrote: "it may be billed as a tribute to a lost star, but this Winter wonderland serves as a reminder that the blues is still very much alive and kicking". [7] Hal Horowitz of American Songwriter wrote that the album "should send blues fans, or those new to his catalog, back to the initial recordings to appreciate the guitarist's talents at their most inspired". [3] Hugh Fielder of Classic Rock magazine wrote: "the results, from the likes of Billy Gibbons, Joe Walsh, Joe Bonamassa, Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks, are impressive. But ultimately you don't learn as much about Johnny himself as you would from listening to the originals of the 17 tracks presented here". [4]

In a mixed review, Mark Blake of Mojo resumed: "for every peak there's an occasional trough". [6]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Mean Town Blues" (featuring Joe Bonamassa) Johnny Winter 5:04
2."Still Alive And Well" (featuring Kenny Wayne Shepherd) Rick Derringer 3:42
3."Lone Star Blues" (featuring Keb' Mo') Edgar Winter 3:57
4."I'm Yours And I'm Hers" (featuring Billy Gibbons and Derek Trucks)Johnny Winter4:49
5."Johnny B. Goode" (featuring David Grissom and Joe Walsh) Chuck Berry 3:27
6."Stranger" (featuring Michael McDonald, Joe Walsh and Ringo Starr)Johnny Winter4:06
7."Highway 61 Revisited" (featuring Kenny Wayne Shepherd and John McFee) Bob Dylan 5:01
8."Rock 'n' Roll Hoochie Koo" (featuring Steve Lukather)Derringer4:03
9."When You Got a Good Friend" (featuring Doyle Bramhall II) Robert Johnson 3:52
10."Jumpin' Jack Flash" (featuring Phil X)5:13
11."Guess I'll Go Away" (featuring Taylor Hawkins and Doug Rappoport)Johnny Winter3:37
12."Drown in My Own Tears" Henry Glover 5:31
13."Self Destructive Blues" (featuring Joe Bonamassa)Johnny Winter3:35
14."Memory Pain" (featuring Warren Haynes) Percy Mayfield 5:44
15."Stormy Monday Blues" (featuring Robben Ford) Aaron Thibeaux Walker 5:25
16."Got My Mojo Workin'" (featuring Bobby Rush)Preston Foster4:13
17."End of the Line" (featuring the David Campbell String Ensemble)Johnny Winter4:24

Personnel

Charts

Chart performance for Brother Johnny
Chart (2022)Peak
position
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [8] 6
UK Jazz & Blues Albums (OCC) [9] 1
US Top Album Sales (Billboard) [10] 33
US Top Blues Albums (Billboard) [11] 1

References

  1. Horsley, Jonathan (December 21, 2022). "The best guitar albums of 2022". Guitar World . Future plc . Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  2. 1 2 "Critic Reviews for Brother Johnny – Metacritic". Metacritic . Archived from the original on May 26, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Horowitz, Hal (April 13, 2022). "Review: High Voltage Stars Heat Up Edger Winter's Sizzling Tribute To His Guitar Slinging 'Brother Johnny'". American Songwriter . Archived from the original on April 14, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  4. 1 2 Fielder, Hugh (April 15, 2022). "Edgar Winter gets the greats in and pays impressive tribute to brother Johnny". Classic Rock . Archived from the original on December 19, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  5. Kause, Philipp. "Facettenreiches Tribute mit viel Emotion und großen Stars". laut.de (in German). Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  6. 1 2 Blake, Mark (May 2022). "Mojo – May 2022". MOJO . p. 88. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  7. 1 2 McCormick, Neil (April 15, 2022). "Edgar Winter keeps the blues alive and kicking – plus this week's best albums". The Telegraph . ISSN   0307-1235. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  8. "Swisscharts.com – Edgar Winter – Brother Johnny". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  9. "Official Jazz & Blues Albums Chart Top 30". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  10. "Edgar Winter Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  11. "Edgar Winter Chart History (Top Blues Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 26, 2023.