Southside Johnny is the lesser known buddy of Bruce Springsteen, with whom he played together more than once in their native New Jersey. In the same year that The Boss again made an old-fashioned good album (The Rising, 2002) Southside Johnny also made his appearance again. Where Springsteen, however, has his finger tight on the pulse of the zeitgeist, Johnny's songs pretend to be little more than
… vehicles for relaxing. The Ashbury Jukes is a no-nonsense pub band that doesn't care about trends and just makes the music they are good at: a mix of blues, rhythm & blues, soul and rock'n'roll. With a bit of good will, you could call The Ashbury the American cousin of De Dijk, with Chris Anderson's horns as the counterparts of The Haarlemmerdijk Horns. Singer John Lyon rivals Huey Lewis and John Hiatt at his best, singers with whom he has something in common. No new musical side roads are taken on this CD either, so the destination Jukesville is reached well within the hour. (MS)more
