Jovin Webb — “Son of a Sinner” — Blind Pig Records
Jovin Webb — a furiously talented Baton Rouge-based, harmonica-playing bluesman — delivers a back-to-the-future message in his second album, “Son of a Sinner.”
Webb digs deeply into the past for the primeval passions of the blues while exploring the future with his personal songwriting and musical vision blending blues, gospel and Southern rock.
Webb says that “Drifter” was: “Me trying to figure out religion, women, my career, and everything I’ve gone through.” That personal rawness continues in “Sinner,” as Webb seems to be working out life’s pain and pleasure in his songs.
Webb explains his musical development: “At a young age, the longing and pain expressed by Southern Black Baptist church music spoke to me, but as I experienced my own trials and tribulations, I felt the pull of the blues. I soon realized that gospel and blues are related. Someone with the blues is in a low place, and when you seek salvation, you’re also usually in a low place.”
“Son of a Sinner” is Webb’s struggle to explore the means of his salvation.
The album is filled with five Webb originals, four original songs from veteran blues producer Tom Hambrige with Richard Fleming and two crackling-good covers that Webb re-creates as his own.
The band includes Webb on harmonica; Hambridge on drums, background vocals and percussion; Kenny Greenberg on guitar; Mike Rojas on keyboards and Tommy MacDonald on bass.
He tears it all open with the ferocious blue-rock assault of “Gunpowder & Lead,” with band cranked up behind its lyrical warning: “If you hold your neighbor’s wife / And love her as your own / You just bought a ticket / To fire and brimstone.” The swampy, bayou-drenched confessional of “Pray for Me” seeks salvation in the thematic title song: “Pray for me, pray for me / I’m just a son of a sinner / Pray for me.”
Webb adds raw emotion and soaring harp to “Every Time I Roll the Dice,” one of those great songs from the Delbert McClinton songbook filled with memorable wordplay: “She got a big Oldsmobile / She got a dog that won’t bite / She got a heart I can steal / Just like a thief in the night.” There’s a more soulful turn on “I Started Young,” before funkiness sets in on “These Boots.”
“Pull ‘Em In” is homespun advice with a pounding rhythm. “After the Rain” and “When I’m Gone” pair up to explore love, loss and starting over. “It’s Alright” is a joyous reminder that it is alright: “But I’m strong enough to fight / And it’s alright, it’s alright to have the blues.” In “Crybaby,” a roving lover gets his comeuppance, with a tasty piano solo. The closer is a rock-hard version of Gregg Allman’s classic “Whipping Post.”
Jovin Webb’s “Son of a Sinner” invokes the pain and pleasure of the blues in a searing quest for personal salvation that scorches his musical landscape with raw emotion. If you’ve never experienced his music, treat yourself to this powerful reminder that the blues is still all right. If you’re already a fan, add this experience to your life.
Here’s an interview with Jovin Webb by Michael Limnios at Blues.Gr.
Here’s “Every Time I Roll the Dice,” from the album:
Tracklist:
1. Gunpowder & Lead (Tom Hambridge, Richard Fleming) — 3:11
2. Pray for Me (Jovin Webb) — 4:24
3. Every Time I Roll the Dice (Max Barnes, Troy Seals) — 4:42
4. I Started Young (Tom Hambridge, Richard Fleming) — 3:25
5. These Boots (Jovin Webb, Tom Hambridge, Richard Fleming) — 3:25
6. Pull ‘Em In (Tom Hambridge, Richard Fleming) — 3:12
7. After the Rain (Jovin Webb) — 6:05
8. When I’m Gone (Jovin Webb) — 4:50
9. It’s Alright (Jovin Webb) — 3:47
10. Crybaby (Jovin Webb) — 4:28
11. Whipping Post (Gregg Allman) — 4:20