Jack J Hutchinson - The Hammer Falls

Size: 109.9 MB
Time: 47:13
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2022
Styles: Heavy Blues Rock
Art: Front

01. Straight To Hell (4:22)
02. The Hammer Falls (4:34)
03. Down By The River (5:00)
04. Angel Of Death (5:35)
05. Halo (3:40)
06. Call Of The Wild (4:50)
07. Gunslinger (4:44)
08. The Ravens Crow (4:13)
09. What Doesn't Kill You (Only Makes You Stronger) (5:44)
10. World On Fire (4:26)

Okay, I’ve had ‘The Hammer Falls‘ spinning for a couple of months, and those people who pledged as part of the album’s Kickstarter campaign have just received their copies ahead of the Official release in a month’s time. So it’s a slap on the wrist for me for not getting this here review online before now.

Jack J. Hutchinson is one of those musicians whose feet are planted in various musical camps, something I know irritates certain blues purists no end, which amuses me somewhat, as there are no actual musical laws restraining an artist’s creativity! ‘The Hammer Falls‘ takes Jack’s heavier leanings and leans on them quite a bit more, the impact of thundering drums & bass from messrs Laz and Felipe underpinning a forceful and yet highly musical guitar sound.

I’ve tended to prefer the dirtier end of blues rock, so ‘The Hammer Falls‘ combining that and some excellent hard rock influences means that this album isn’t just my cup of tea, it’s the whole tea set & kettle to boot!

As someone whose been following Jack & Co’s progress, having seen them a few times the last few years, to me it’s obvious that Jack’s very much plugged into what’s wanted by today’s audience and is having a mighty fine time of it too. ‘The Hammer Falls‘ demands to be listened too, and at an elevated volume of course. It’s catchy in all the right places, avoids too many cliches, which is a tad tricky in itself, and crucially it makes you want to hit play again the moment the album finishes.

Standout tracks for me personally would be ‘Halo‘, ‘Down By The River‘ and the album opener ‘Straight To Hell‘, but as far as I’m concerned, there are no ‘fillers’, no track I wanted to skip.
It will be interesting to see the reaction to ‘The Hammer Falls‘, one thing I do know is these tracks will tear your lugholes out when heard live on Jack’s 2022 Tour, which kicks off on February 3rd at the O2 Islington.

Is it too early to add ‘The Hammer Falls‘ to my favorite releases of 2022 list already? I think not! ~Dan Mann

The Hammer Falls MP3
The Hammer Falls FLAC

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Jack J Hutchinson - Who Feeds The Lockdown? / Who Feeds The Lockdown?: Unplugged

Album: Who Feeds The Lockdown?
Size: 101,8 MB
Time: 43:41
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2020
Styles: Heavy Blues Rock
Art: Front

01. Justified (4:05)
02. Haunted Bones (3:11)
03. Kiss Your Ass Goodbye (4:48)
04. Peace Of Mind (5:54)
05. Autumn Leaves (4:00)
06. Winds Of Change (3:31)
07. Rattlesnake Woman (3:16)
08. Lucky Man (3:23)
09. Rapture (3:24)
10. War Pigs (8:05)

Album: Who Feeds The Lockdown?: Unplugged
Size: 97,7 MB
Time: 41:39
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2020
Styles: Acoustic Blues Rock
Art: Front

01. Deal With The Devil (2:49)
02. Hip Slickin' (3:02)
03. Kiss Your Ass Goodbye (5:02)
04. One Horse Town (4:20)
05. The River Cries (3:57)
06. Get It Back (2:37)
07. No Speak No Slave (4:00)
08. Homebound (3:56)
09. Down By The River (6:47)
10. Wonderwall (5:03)

Jack J Hutchinson is a London based guitarist and singer songwriter. Described by Classic Rock Magazine as “Southern-smoked blues-rock with hooks, choruses, the lot”, his most recent album ‘Who Feeds The Wolf?‘ reached #1 in the Amazon Blues Chart and the iTunes Blues Chart Top 5.

Born in Leicester, Hutchinson spent his formative years in Burnley in the north west before moving to London to be an artist and musician. To date, he has released two solo albums, including 2017’s critically acclaimed ‘Paint No Fiction‘.

He has toured internationally, including shows in Brazil, Spain, Russia, France, Germany. He has also played various high profile festivals, including BluesFest at the O2 alongside Bad Company and Ramblin’ Man Fair, where he shared the bill with ZZ Top, Rival Sons and Blackberry Smoke. Support slots have included Monster Truck and Kris Barras Band.

Who Feeds The Lockdown? MP3
Who Feeds The Lockdown? FLAC
Who Feeds The Lockdown?: Unplugged MP3
Who Feeds The Lockdown?: Unplugged FLAC

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Jack J Hutchinson - Who Feeds The Wolf?

Size: 106,9 MB
Time: 45:09
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2019
Styles: Blues Rock
Art: Front

01. Justified (3:58)
02. Haunted Bones (3:02)
03. Kiss Your Ass Goodbye (4:55)
04. I Will Follow You (4:35)
05. Lucky Man (3:23)
06. Peace Of Mind (5:51)
07. Roll Another One (3:03)
08. Let It Ride (4:07)
09. Autumn Leaves (4:00)
10. Winds Of Change (3:31)
11. Sleep, Awake, Obey! (4:40)

From the opening riff of Justified you get the feeling that what is about to burst through the speakers could be something special. When the Hammond organ and the vocals kick in, the tingles start to run up your spine, and then the middle-eight break hits you like a sledgehammer before the first of many ripping solos puts the icing on the cake. There is so much depth and complexity in the backing vocal harmonies and the underlying melodies that the listener is pulled in deep, and is immersed in the layers.

Haunted Bones is the first single off the album, and has a driving guitar line that pervades the track, with choral vocal lines throughout which are stating to set this guy apart from some of the other new blues rock artists cutting through in the UK.

I was lucky enough to see Jack J Hutchinson live in the UK a couple of times earlier this year, and he impressed as a solid 4-piece live act, and the earlier album Paint No Fiction, was a good representation of his sound. This new record though is a different class altogether, and sees the live band handling all of the recording duties, putting the synergies from months of live shows into great effect in the studio, and it really shows up on the record.

There is a real retro vibe to Kiss Your Ass Goodbye, with an opening acoustic guitar melody before the rest of the band jumps in, and a really strong voice with Jack hitting some higher notes with ease. Explaining the vibe of Who Feeds The Wolf?, Hutchinson comments: “It’s an angry record. The shit has really hit the fan and we are in a bit of a mess, both politically and environmentally. I guess my response has been to plug in my Marshall stack and turn everything up to 11!!”

It is also the most introspective album he has produced to date due to a whole load of personal things impacting Jack’s life, and in particular his father being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

A mellow opening to I Will Follow You rolls into a fairly standard verse that morphs into an unusual and striking chorus featuring some haunting melodies, harking back to some of the psychedelia-tinged blues rock of the 1960s and 70s, accentuated by the late appearance of the organ. Lucky Man gives us another powerful riff under some strong vocals and a huge keyboard background, and a rock-solid beat from Felipe Amorim on the kit that just drives the song from start to finish.

Guitar and electric piano from Alberto Manuzzi provide the opening segment of Peace of Mind with another retro feel, before the false ending leads us into a stronger up-tempo number, with some intricate guitar work in the riff under the verses.

The angry feel blows out of the speakers with the opening to Roll Another One, which has a grungy dirty feel to the guitar that runs through the distorted solo with a touch of an Eastern sound in the lower-end melodies, and shows bassist Lazarus Michaelides off well.

The obvious chemistry in the band is clear from the southern-rock swagger of Let It Ride, with the guitar and piano working together to deliver a catchy and commercial pop-rock sound, with some clever backing vocals that maintain that retro rock feel. There is a warmth to the opening vocals of Autumn Leaves, another multi-layered ballad with the keyboards being the hero of the piece.

The raunchy, low-slung Les Paul is definitely the hero of Winds of Change, which shows off the under-stated ability of Jack as a quality blues-rock guitarist, and showcases the whole band in what is becoming a familiar ‘wall of sound’ delivery, with those huge backing harmonies bolstered by the keyboards, and all backed up by the ultra-tight rhythm section.

Favourite riff of the album from the moment it opens up the mammoth Sleep Awake Obey! which is a little out there from the normal Jack J Hutchinson sound, but is utterly compelling with a sense of brutality in the guitar work, and menace in the vocal and organ melodies, backed by Felipe crushing the tom-toms throughout. Just as I was about to hit repeat to play it again, the outro explodes Metallica-like from the speakers and provides an epic close to the record. This will be something to witness if they can deliver the same feel onstage! Roll on March 2020 and the UK Tour. ~Peter Coates

Who Feeds The Wolf?

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Jack J Hutchinson - Unplugged

Styles: acoustic blues
Released: 2015
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 50,7 MB
Time: 22:09
Scans: front

1. Boom! - 2:56
2. Easy Baby - 4:23
3. Hey Hey Hey - 3:38
4. Locomotive Blues - 2:51
5. How Blue Can You Get - 4:25
6. Shame Shame Shame - 3:53

The digital and limited edition CD release includes brand new Hutchinson originals ‘Boom!’ and ‘Locomotive Blues’, plus covers of BB King, Magic Sam and Jimmy Reed classics. Featuring renowned blues player Tom Brundage on harmonica, the digital record will be released on 14 December 2015. In addition, a strictly limited edition run of 100 vinyl CDs will be available at Hutchinson’s upcoming tour dates, plus via his online store.

Hutchinson said: “I’ve played around 70 shows this year, many of them with Mr Brundage on harp. Certain songs became staples of our blues duo shows and the idea was to recreate that feel. We set up a few microphones in the studio and just started playing. It’s all live with no amps or fancy technology. Warts and all – just as acoustic blues should be!”

Explaining the reasons for the record’s limited run, Hutchinson added: “This is my way of saying thanks to everyone who has come to the shows this year, whilst gearing up for my debut album release with my band The Boom Boom Brotherhood early next year.”

Unplugged

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Jack J Hutchinson - Unplugged EP

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 22:09
Size: 50.7 MB
Styles: Contemporary blues
Year: 2015
Art: Front

[2:56] 1. Boom!
[4:23] 2. Easy Baby
[3:38] 3. Hey Hey Hey
[2:51] 4. Locomotive Blues
[4:25] 5. How Blue Can You Get
[3:53] 6. Shame Shame Shame

Jack J Hutchinson is pleased to announce Unplugged, a new 6-track live acoustic EP featuring a selection of fan favourites from Hutchinson’s recent tour dates, has entered the UK iTunes Blues Chart at number 16. In addition it has been featured in iTunes ‘Hot New Releases’ on their blues homepage. The record has also entered blues charts in Australia, Holland and the US, plus entered the global Apple Music chart for streaming.

Hutchinson said: “I am really pleased by the success of what was initially meant to be a limited release for my fans. To enter the iTunes top 20 is pretty incredible. I’d just like to say thank you to everyone who is digging the record.”

The digital and limited edition CD release includes brand new Hutchinson originals ‘Boom!’ and ‘Locomotive Blues’, plus covers of BB King, Magic Sam and Jimmy Reed classics. Featuring renowned blues player Tom Brundage on harmonica

Unplugged mc
Unplugged zippy

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Jack J Hutchinson Band - Get It Back EP

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 20:55
Size: 47.9 MB
Styles: Modern electric blues
Year: 2014
Art: Front

[3:08] 1. Wake Up
[3:26] 2. Look In The Mirror
[4:19] 3. Loving Man
[2:30] 4. Never Too Late
[2:25] 5. Get It Back
[5:04] 6. Hey Hey Hey

This collection of six self-penned songs was recorded at Universal Studios in West London over the preceding six months. Lead tracks ‘Get It Back’ and ‘Wake Up’ set the tone for the record. Both are energetic, groove-laden blues rock tunes that mix high octane vocals and guitar with pounding drums and bass. The songs were both recorded live with minimal overdubs – capturing the vibe of the sweaty blues clubs the band have been honing their craft in for years. Elsewhere on the record, ‘Look In The Mirror’ mixes Sly and the Family Stone funk with an speed-infused outro that brings to mind Allman Brothers circa Live at Fillmore East. With ‘Loving Man’ the band settles into a laid back and dirty groove that suggests early Fleetwood Mac, whilst ‘Hey Hey Hey’, rounds off the set with a melodic country vibe.

‘Get It Back’ and ‘Wake Up’ have already received a great deal of radio play ahead of the EP release, including on British Blues Awards panel member Dave Watkins’ show and the Classic Rock Blues Magazine show.

Get It Back mc
Get It Back zippy

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