John Pippus
"Wrapped Up In The Blues"

By Peter "Blewzzman" Lauro © January 2012

Statements like this are the exact reason I don't like reading the liner notes or one sheets before I listen to a CD....."Wrapped Up In The Blues” is a collection of tunes that range from traditional blues, to world blues, to sonic experiments that acknowledge their blues roots but dare to push the boundaries".....Being someone who prefers Chicago Blues over "World Blues", being someone who doesn't see a need for "experimentation" with those blues and being someone who feels the genre's "boundaries" are fine right where they are, reading that statement could very well have stopped me from listening at all. However, I didn't read, I did listen and the results were wonderfully interesting.

"Wrapped Up In The Blues" features John Pippus on vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, and harmonica; Tim Proznick on drums; Darren Parris on bass; Ronii Wata on programming and percussion, slide guitar and additional vocals; and EV on additional vocals. Nine of the ten tracks are originals.

"Airplane Woman" is one of the disc's fastest tracks. Although the rhythm is significant, it's the melding of John's acoustic guitar, electric guitar and harmonica that highlight this smoker.

From a blues point of view, "Tell Me Why" may very well be the most.....and only traditional track. It features Tim and Darren locked into a slow and smooth rhythm groove with John softly strumming his guitar and gently whispering the song's beautiful lyrics.

One listen to "One World" and you'll understand why SoundProof magazine declared John Pippus a "Folk/Roots Gem"....he truly is. This is one heck of a beautiful song and easily the disc's best track. The vocals, vocal harmony and acoustic guitar work are all perfectly done. This two and half minute song should have been at least triple that.

Another interesting track is "I Dreamed of Muddy Waters Last Night". In the dream, Muddy was dressed in his 3 piece suit, playing his telecaster and doing a Jimmy Reed song. Now that's a dream we should all have. Of course a song about Muddy would have to feature some good harp playing and indeed, John does some excellent blowing on this one.

A pilgrimage to the former home of his biggest influence took John Pippus to 61 Greig Street, Rochester, NY. There he saw where Eddie "Son" House once lived and it inspired him to write this song - "Son's House". It's a short track featuring excellent acoustic guitar by John and strong rhythm by Tim and Darren on drums and bass.

Other tracks on "Wrapped Up In The Blues" Include: "When My Baby Loves Me", "Walk Away", "Coming Home Blues", "Hard Headed Woman" and "Preachin' Blues".

If you're a listener that likes your blues outside the box and don't always care for the same old basic twelve bar routine, then you need to check out John Pippus. That can easily be done by going to www.johnpippus.com. When you go, please tell him the Blewzzman sent ya.