Track Listing
1. Carolina Blues
2. Felicia
3. Justify the Thrill
4. Canadian Rose
5. Business as Usual
6. Yours
7. Psycho Joe (Goes to the Electric Chair)
8. Great Big World
9. Battle of Someone
10. Most Precarious
11. Gunfighter, The
12. Last Night I Dreamed
13. Make My Way
| Details | | Contributing Artists: | John Medeski | | Distributor: | Universal Distribution | | Recording Type: | Studio | | Recording Mode: | Stereo | | SPAR Code: | n/a |
Album Notes
Blues Traveler: John Popper (vocals, 12-string acoustic guitar, harmonica); Chan Kinchla (guitar); Bob Sheehan (bass); Brendan Hill (drums).
Additional personnel: James Gaskill, Alicia Edelberg, Barry Finclair, Browning Cramer, Marilyn Reynolds, Stanley Kurtis, Lucia Morganstern (violin); Lamar Alsop, Juliet Hafner, Samuel Kephart (viola); Frederick Zlotin, Ellen Zoe Hassman (cello); Paul Griffin (piano); John Medeski (Hammond B-3 organ); Larry Hoppen (Fender Rhodes, organ); Mark Eddinger (keyboards); Lewis Paer (bass); Sammy Figueroa (percussion); Robin Clark, Tawatha Agee, Vivion Cherry, Alison Barbiero, Lauren Barbiero (background vocals).
Producers: Steve Thompson, Michael Barbiero.
Recorded at Bearsville Studios, Bearsville, New York and Sear Sound, New York, New York.
STRAIGHT ON is the much-anticipated follow-up to FOUR, the band's 1994 breakthrough. The album shows a band whose creativity has grown exponentially without sacrificing any of their edge. John Popper's songwriting has more of a romantic bent this time around, as on the Latin-flavored "Felicia."
Complimenting Popper's romantic ruminations is the impressive first crack at a string arrangement gilding "Yours," a sweeping ballad that avoids any hint of mawkishness. Musically, Blues Traveler stretch their boundaries with songs like the Paul Butterfield-meets-XTC "Psycho Joe," which skewers the exploitative nature of talk shows. BT's finest moment comes on "Make My Way," a gospel-soaked, Stax-flavored number that finds the band joined by Sweet Inspirations-style backup singers and keyboardist John Medeski (of Medeski, Martin & Wood fame).
Editorial Reviews
3 Stars (out of 5) - ...[Blues Traveler] remains an improvisational powerhouse onstage, while taking a radio friendlier tack in the studio, emphasizing songs that are more than pegs for extended solos...
Rolling Stone
...they've souped up a perfect road album, stressing riffs and beats that tear along at a brisk clip. But they've also grounded their jams in appealingly long melodies....In [Popper's] hands, an often slurred and whining instrument finds the clarity of a fined-tuned lead guitar... - Rating: B
Entertainment Weekly (07/11/1997)
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