Johnny Roth: Reviews

Pennsylvania guitarist Johnny Roth serves up seven tracks of instrumental blues with a rock edge on his debut CD, a definite keeper. Roth's influences are no secret here: his tone and phrasing often echo Robben Ford, particularly on the title track (a reference to his shy nature). A good dose of well-executed slide weaves through the tunes, often serving as a nod to Duane Allman. Demoman is proof positive that even though he adds an edge and brings his own voice to the blues, Roth has put in his time studying the masters of the genre. Plop Freddie King into the here and now, and this is a song he might pen.The songs here - at times spiced with a little jazz and funk - are catchy and memorable, and the playing ranks right up there with any number of today's better-known guitar heroes. Guitar aficionados will love Roth's bold tone and clean playing, but they may also find fault with the disc: it's too short.

Sounding like a young Duane Allman, guitarist Johnny Roth cooks up a powerful mix of instrumental blues-rock and rootsy jazz on his self-produced 2003 seven track CD. Making good use of his '56 Les Paul, his Baker B1C and Takamine acoustic guitars, Roth rips through some impressive fretboard techniques on Still Not Talkin'. In addition to playing the electric and acoustic guitars, Roth also skillfully performs the backing tracks. Clearly, Roth has the chops and songwriting gifts to become a rising force in his own right.

People say Johnny Roth is a Duane Allman reincarnation. But this Pennsylvania guitar player is much more than a clone of the legendary Duane. Roth is a fine musician who deeply controls his Les Paul sound with an enviable technique. The riffs he pulls out are really cool, bright but at the same time juicy and leaping because Johnny always emphasizes tone and phrasing. ‘Still Not Talkin’” combines skill and originality of blues by ’design’ called ‘fusion blues’ along the lines of Robben Ford with some drops of funk and groove together with melodic lines that could be described as ‘rootsy - flavored - jazz’. An instrumental album with a great deal of quality and experienced work, but short in length. GREAT.



Dicen de Johnny Roth que es la reencarnación de Duane Allman. Sin embargo este guitarrista de Pensylvania es mucho más que un clon del legendario Duane. Roth es un fino estilista que controla y domina el sonido de su Les Paul con una técnica más que envidiable. Los riffs que emanan de su instrumento son claros, cristalinos y al mismo tiempo jugosos y saltarines, pues Johnny pone mucho énfasis en el tono y en el fraseo. ‘Still Not Talkin' es un disco en el que se conjugan con habilidad y originalidad el blues de 'diseño' también llamado 'fusion-blues' en la linea de Robben Ford con un poquito de funk, groove, y algunas líneas melódicas, sobre todo en la onda de lo que podríamos calificar como 'roosty-flavour-jazz'. Un álbum instrumental, lleno de calidad y buen oficio, aunque algo corto en duración. MUY BUENO. La Hora del Blues