Jon Strahl Band: “Heartache And Toil” (2020) CD Review

Jon Strahl Band is a blues and rock band based in Indianapolis, delivering music with strong grooves. Their new album, Heartache And Toil, features all original music, written by Jon Strahl. The band is made up of Jon Strahl on guitar and vocals, Mitch Millhoff on bass, Nick Mallers on drums and percussion, and Bill Mallers on keyboards and piano, with the horn section of Joshua Silbert on tenor and baritone saxophone, Bruce Knepper on trumpet, and Charlie Krone on trombone.

The disc opens with “Hey Yeah, All Right,” its first lines being “When I was a young man, my heart beat steady/Now I’m getting older, and I’m feeling heavy.” Yup, a blues song whose first lines are about aging is certainly going to speak to me. And haven’t we all aged a tremendous amount in the last four years? Who isn’t feeling the effects of this disastrous and incompetent administration? But then the horns come in, and I’m lifted up. Plus, Jon Strahl tells us “It’s all right,” a message I need to hear several times a day. Lyrically, not a whole lot is happening, as you might guess from the song’s title, but it is enough. “I’m lonely/And you’re the only one/I want your love/I need your love.” When you feel like that, sometimes you can’t say much more. And not much more is needed. There is a cool, funky instrumental section toward the end, and I love that bass line. That’s followed by “How Long,” and right away I am digging that heavy, steady beat, with that great bluesy guitar driving right into us. “How long must I wait for you?” It’s a valid question. “You don’t love me, darling, like you used to do.” You get the sense that he’s willing to wait a while. And meanwhile, the blues keeps pushing forward.

“Heartache And Toil,” the album’s title track, has a delicious groove from the start, and features some cool work on keys. “Won’t you save me/Won’t you save me/Won’t you save me/Save me from this heartache and toil/Deliver me from darkness/Burn a little midnight oil.” Ah yes, it seems we all need a bit of saving these days. This track also features a really nice lead on guitar in the second half, and is one of my personal favorites. That’s followed by “The Right Thing,” and when this one kicks in, it also develops a great groove. “Pretending to be flying while his soul was a wreck/He was trying to do the right thing/But it doesn’t feel like the right thing/To do tonight.” This track features a strong vocal performance, some more nice work on keys, and an absolutely cool bass line. There is another cool bass line in “Lose My Mind,” as well as a great drum beat. This one has a bit of a celebratory feel at the start, a bit of a New Orleans vibe. It is about making some changes and trying to rid himself of the memories. “Well, I lost you and now I need to lose these memories/Yeah, I’ve got to find a way to lose my mind.” The song suddenly slows down, and you get the sense that everything he was trying came to no avail, that nothing worked. It then picks up again. I love the guitar part, and this is another of my favorite tracks.

“Can’t Look Back” starts off slowly, then suddenly kicks in with a jolt and becomes a completely fun number, one to get you dancing and grooving and forgetting your troubles. And that is exactly the point, as Jon Strahl tells us, “All you got to do is try/Leave those broken days behind/You can’t look back, no you can’t look back/You can’t look back, no, you can’t look back/All those days are gone.” I am seriously digging this track. There is something loose about it that I love. And there is more good work on keys, and another excellent bass line. Then “The Weight I Feel” has a wonderful classic sound, full of soul, full of passion. And it features a great vocal performance, probably the best of the album, helping to make this track another of the disc’s highlights. “I want to hold you/But there is something holding onto me.” There is another fantastic bass line in “Leave Me Alone,” a track that really moves and features some delicious work from the horn section. If you need something to help you get off your ass, this track ought to do the trick. “Well, I don’t need all the dollar bills in your pocket/And I don’t need all the games you play, you just can’t stop it/All these things that you see when you’re looking in the mirror/The farther away I get, they just keep getting clearer and clearer.”

“The Only Ones” has a positive vibe, and features more good stuff from the horn section. “But I don’t want you to worry about me/Not with this beautiful world that we got/Because you’re the only ones that I need.” That’s followed by “Day After Day,” which has something of a bright, uplifting sound. “Now that I see you/Darling, I need you/Day after day/I finally see you/Darling, I need you/Day after day.” Then “So Real” begins with some really nice work on acoustic guitar. It soon kicks in, and there is a joy to the sound. In the line “Wanting you to deliver me to my home,” there are interesting pauses, before and after the word “me,” drawing our attention. This is another of the disc’s highlights. It ends as it began, with some pretty work on guitar. The album concludes with a sweet guitar instrumental, “Indiana Moonshine.”

CD Track List

1. Hey Yeah, All Right
2. How Long
3. Heartache And Toil
4. The Right Thing
5. Lose My Mind
6. Can’t Look Back
7. The Weight I Feel
8. Leave Me Alone
9. The Only Ones
10. Day After Day
11. So Real
12. Indiana Moonshine

Heartache And Toil was released on April 24, 2020.