Tony Holiday: “Motel Mississippi” (2023) CD Review

Tony Holiday is a singer and harmonica player based in Memphis and working in the blues realm. In 2019, he released Porch Sessions, which featured a great range of talented blues artists, including Charlie Musselwhite, James Harman and Kid Ramos, recorded on various porches across the country. He followed that the next year with a solo album titled Soul Service, and is now putting out his second solo release, Motel Mississippi.  On this one, he is working with A.J. Fullerton and Dave Gross, who both produced the album and perform on these tracks. A.J. Fullerton also wrote much of the material, and Dave Gross mixed and mastered the album. A.J. Fullerton plays guitar and banjo, while Dave Gross plays guitar, accordion, keys, percussion and synthesizer, and provides some backing vocals. Also playing on these are tracks are Aubrey McCrady on guitar, Victor Wainwright on keys, Terrence Grayon on bass, Lee Williams Jr. on drums, Jake Friel on harmonica, and Mikey Junior on backing vocals.

The disc kicks off with a cover of “Rob & Steal,” which has a good, mean blues rhythm. This song was written by Paul “Wine” Jones, who included it on his 1995 release Mule. Tony Holiday delivers a strong and faithful rendition, and the track features some good work on guitar. Then we get the first of the songs written by A.J. Fullerton, “Get By,” a song that is about self-reliance, sort of. But hey, we all need a little help to get by, and that harmonica is certainly helping me. “I’ve got enough of my worries/Got enough on my mind/I ain’t asking for nothing/Maybe just a little more time/I just need a little bit.” Oh yes, those lyrics are speaking to me. And I imagine they’ll speak to anyone else who has been saying, okay, enough worries. Aren’t we all ready for something good? Well, this music might provide what you need.

A blues song titled “Trouble”? Well, of course, that sounds just exactly right. And this is an original number, written by Tony Holiday, Victor Wainwright and A. J. Fullerton. It has a delicious blues groove, and features more cool work on harmonica. Here is a taste of the lyrics: “Well, don’t call me on the phone/Well, don’t come around my home/Don’t stand outside my door/Well, don’t come around no more/Trouble, oh trouble, I’ve been here before/Trouble, trouble, well, don’t come around no more.” The way he directly addresses trouble reminds me of Cat Stevens’ “Trouble,” though of course this one has quite a different tone and sound. And, hey, don’t we all wish we could speak directly to Trouble and somehow convince it to leave us the hell alone? There is some really nice work on keys during the jam in the middle of the track. That’s followed by “She’s So Cold,” another song written by A.J. Fullerton, who included it on his 2017 album Kalamath (Nic Clark played harmonica on that earlier version). This tune has a strong groove, and features some delicious harmonica playing right from the start. “I can’t help myself, she was so pretty/I can’t help myself at all/She had me under her spell so gently/Don’t want nobody else.”

On “Just As Gone,” a fun groove is established immediately. This one was also written by A.J. Fullerton, and I’m digging it, even though it uses that weak “self”/“shelf” rhyme (and uses it twice). Check out that guitar work. There is some playing on this track. “Made a mistake and everyone saw/Like or not, I’m just as gone.” That’s followed by a cover of Asie Payton’s “Nobody But You,” a song that was included on the 1999 album Worried, released two years after Payton’s death. Tony Holiday delivers a really good rendition, its rhythm popping and moving. “You told me to my face/You’d never leave me alone/Well now, darling/You’ve done me wrong/But I love you/Oh, I love you, pretty girl/Nobody but you.” This track also contains some good work on guitar.

“You Know Who I Am” was written by A.J. Fullerton. In this one, Tony Holiday sings, “You know that I’m a fool for ya/You know I’d do everything that I can/You know I’m coming home to ya/You know just who I am.” Ah yes, this one has a good feeling about it. We’ve all made mistakes, we all have faults, and to be known by a special woman who somehow still accepts us and loves us is the best feeling there is. The disc concludes with “Yazoo River,” a tune written by Tony Holiday and A.J. Fullerton. The Yazoo River is in Louisiana, and this song has a strong Louisiana vibe right from its start, with that rhythm, and the presence of accordion, and of course some wonderful work on harmonica. This is the album’s only instrumental track.

CD Track List

1. Rob & Steal
2. Get By
3. Trouble
4. She’s So Cold
5. Just As Gone
6. Nobody But You
7. You Know Who I Am
8. Yazoo River

Motel Mississippi is scheduled to be released on April 14, 2023 on Forty Below Records.