Joe Mack - "When I Think
About Love" - 12-song CD - Review by Todd Crosby of
"Boston Soundcheck Magazine"
Produced by Joe Mack , Ric Poulin; Engineered and mixed by
Colman Hennesey, Peva Pardel , Ric Poulin; Recorded, Mixed and
Mastered at Bristol Studios, Boston MA.
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Well on
his new CD Joe Mack flatters the hell out of some of the best
to ever pick up a guitar. All originals here, but the influences
are clear. Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jeff Beck, B.B. King, Joe Satriani,
and too many more to name, come shining through on this brilliant
CD from the local bluesmaster.
The flavor may come from the influences, but the cooking is all
Joe Mack. And cook he does. From tracks 1 to 12 and everywhere
in between, Joe Mack plays the blues with an unbridled enthusiasm
and ability seldom found north of the Mason-Dixon line.
The opening guitar lick of "They Say" is like a fish
hook embedding itself into the base of your skull as it slowly
reels you in. The title track "When I Think About Love"
with Joe's raspy vocals accentuated by the backing vocals of
Teisha Sawyer and Bethany Wright. The lighthearted "I Used
To Have A Brain (Then I Got Married)" with its classic line
"since I became Mr. Right, everything I do is wrong."
The depressing "Peace of Mind" conjuring up images of
a smoke-filled, darkened blues hall, an aging man at the end of
the bar sipping his bourbon, contemplating life's mistakes.
The exotic "Song For Jeanne," reminiscent of Stevie
Rays' "Riviera Paradise." Beautifully written
and performed.
The all out jam of "Joes' Boogie". The foot stomping
"Turnup Joe Zamp" (get it?) and the funky drive of "You
Ain't What You Wear." "Hen House Blues" is
a throwback to the way the blues used to be, while "Desperate"
(I love this song) incorporates the best of everything the blues has
become. "Mean Old Woman Blues" truly is as mean as a
junkyard dog and the acoustic instrumental "Peppermint Stick"
closes the CD with dramatic flair.
I really can't say enough about this guy's playing or this CD.
If you're a fan of the blues, the electric guitar, or just plain
good music pick up this CD. No collection should be without
one.
- Todd Crosby - HHH1/2 Contact: (781) 233-5582 / www.jomackband.com
( The H's stand for Hip Hip Hooray 1/2)
Joe Mack - "When I Think
About Love" - Review by Karl Russo of "Performer Magazine"
Recorded, Mixed, and Mastered at Bristol Studios, Boston.
Engineered and Mixed by Colman Hennesey, Peva Pardel, and Ric
Poulin
It is great to hear someone who is a master at playing the blues.
Guitarist/vocalist Joe Mack does this on this powerful recording.
He possesses a classic blues style characteristic of a stripped
down Stevie Ray Vaughn style. Mack's tasty blues melodies bring
a warm but aggressive feel to the songs on this record. Each note
he plays makes sense and he never runs out of musical ideas. This
is especially evident on "Song for Jeanne." After hearing
gritty blues tracks from the beginning of the disc, Mack brings
a heart-felt, soothing instrumental to the song selection. With
the next track, he takes another abrupt turn and offers the hard
rocking instrumental, "Joe's Boogie," a rock/blues tune
characteristic of Joe Satriani that almost sounds like a spin-off
of "Satch Boogie." It's here that Mack shows off his
technical abilities as well as some meaningful songwriting. Mack's
meaty and sometimes raspy voice compliments the music perfectly.
He brings an element of belief to the listener even on the disc's
ballads. His versatility as a guitarist and singer make this album
the great work that it is.
Contact: JoMackBand@aol.com
Local guitarist
jams with Steve Vai
SOMERVILLE JOURNAL – Thursday, December
2, 1999 BY CHRISTOPHER HURLEY- Journal
Correspondent
Musician Joe Mack recently received the
thrill of a lifetime. The former Somerville, now Saugus resident
was invited to share the stage with guitar virtuoso Steve Vai
during a concert at the Avalon in Boston, Nov. 19.
Mack, a St. Clement's graduate, turned
out to be the lucky winner of a contest, sponsored by WAAF and
Guitar Center in Brookline, in which local musicians sent in a
disc or tape of their own music. The winner would earn the right
to jam on stage with Steve Vai.
Generally regarded as a guitar virtuoso, Vai
has astounded critics and fans alike with his incredible playing
style. From his days as the 19-year-old prodigy of FrankZappa,
to his guitar hero status with David Lee Roth and Whitesnake,
Vai’s riffs have earned him legions of fans from around the
world.
The Howard Street resident was one of
over two dozen guitarist who submitted a disc in hopes of winning
the contest. After listening to all the entries, Vai personally
se-lected Mack’s disc ‘When I think about love,’
as the winner.
“It was funny, when I entered the
contest the salesman said not too many people have entered because
everybody’s so scared of him,” said Mack. “I said
‘What are they sa-cred of, you’re not going to give
the guy any competition.’ I wasn’t worried about that.
You just get up there and do what you do, so that’s basically
what I did.”
Later that evening, midway though his set,
Vai called Mack out, in front of a sold out Avalon Ballroom crowd.
The local guitarist then led the band through a rousing rendition
of Jeff Beck’s “Freeway Jam,” trading licks with
the guitar legend.
"It felt great,” said the 46-year
old Mack. “I was surprisingly enough pretty comfortable.
I’ve been playing a long time and I know in these kind of
situations that you have as much fun as you can. It was a big
thrill for me, but I’m sure on his agenda it was just a little
bit of the show, but we had fun.”
When he’s not jamming with guitar gods,
Mack can be found performing with the Joe Mack Band, playing venues
such as The Blue Note Lounge and Celley’s Pub in Lynn. For
more information on where Mack is heading next, check out his
web site at www.jomackband .com
Saugus guitarist jams with Steve Vai
By Christopher Hurley - Saugus Advertiser
Correspondant
Musician Joe Mack recently received the thrill of a lifetime.
The Saugus resident was invited to share the stage with guitar
virtuoso Steve Vai during a concert at the Avalon in Boston, Nov.
19.
Mack turned out to he the lucky winner of a contest, sponsored
by WAAF and Guitar Center in Brook-line, where local musicians
send in a disc or tape of their own music. The winner earns the
right to jam on stage with Steve Vai.
Generally regarded as a guitar virtuoso, Vai has astounded critics
and fans alike with his incredible playing style. From his days
as the 19-year-old prodigy of Frank Zappa to his guitar hero status
with David Lee Roth and Whitesnake, Vai’s riffs have earned
him legions of fans from around the world.
The Howard Street resident was one of more than two dozen guitarist
who submitted a disc in hopes of win-ning the contest. After listening
to all the entries, Vai personally selected Mack’s disc “When
I think about love,” as the winner.
"It was funny, when I entered the contest the salesman said
not too many people had entered because everybody’s so scared
of [Vai]," said Mack. “I said ‘What are they sacred
of, you’re not going to give the guy any competition.’
I wasn’t worried about that. You just get up there and do
what you do, so that’s basically what I did.”
Later that evening, midway though
his set, Vai called Mack out in front of a sold out Avalon Ballroom
crowd. The Saugus guitarist then led the band through a rousing
rendition of Jeff Beck’s “Freeway Jam.” trading
licks with the guitar legend.
“It felt great,” said the 46-year-Old
Mack. I was surprisingly enough pretty comfortable. I’ve
been playing along time and I know in these kind of situations
that you have as much fun as you can. It was a big thrill for
me, but I’m sure on his agenda I was just a little bit of
the show, but we had fun.’
When he’s not jamming with guitar gods, Mack can be found
performing with the Joe Mack Band, playing venues such as The
Blue Note Lounge and Celley’s Pub in Lynn. For more information
on where Mack is heading next, check out his web site www.jomackband.com
