| Biography: Although not a
household name, Johnny Neel is a Grammy award nominee recognized in the
music world for his work with the Allman Brothers, Lonnie Mack and Gov't
Mule, among others. In addition to his soulful vocals, harp, piano and B-3
proficiency, Johnny is an accomplished songwriter whose tunes have been
recorded by the likes of the Allman Brothers, Joe Louis Walker, John
Mayall, Irma Thomas, Ann Peebles, Marie Osmond, the Oak Ridge Boys and
Travis Tritt.
Born and Raised in Wilmington, Delaware, Johnny Neel cut his first
single at the age of twelve, as Johnny Neel and The Shapes Of Soul. As an
adult, the Johnny Neel Band had a strong following up and down the East
Coast and released two well-received independent albums. Neel moved to
Nashville, the premiere song writing city, in 1984, where he immediately
became recognized as an "A" session studio player. Others began to notice
Neel’s songwriting talent and decided to take advantage by recording his
songs on their albums.
Performing with various bands in area clubs drew the attention of
former Nashville resident Dickey Betts, who asked Neel to join his road
band, and begin working on Dickey's solo LP for Epic Records. That
relationship led to seven cuts on the "Pattern Disruptive" LP including
the Top 10 AOR hit, "Rock Bottom." Neel's talented keyboard and harp
playing on that album convinced Gregg Allman to ask Neel to tour with his
road band.
Neel decided to join the reunited Allman Brothers Band, immersing
himself in a successful tour, which led to a number one AOR smash hit
during the summer of 1990. Car radios all across America blasted "Good
Clean Fun", from the Seven Turns Album, co-written by Neel with Allman and
Betts. The chart topping hit provided the reunited Allmans with their
highest charting single since "Ramblin' Man" fifteen years prior.
Following that tour, Neel released "Late Night Breakfast", which was
recorded at his studio, Straight Up Sound Studio, with the members of his
band, "The Last Word", and special guests such as Shane Theriot (The
Neville Brothers), Rick Vito (Fleetwood Mac) and Wayne Jackson (The
Memphis Horns). This record was released on Neel’s label, Breakin’
Records, which showcased his pleading vocals as well as brilliant piano,
B-3 and harp work. During that same period of time the recordings were
made, Neel also became a member of Blue Floyd, a premiere jam band with
variations on the material of Pink Floyd. In addition to Neel, the band
was comprised of Marc Ford (Black Crowes), Matt Abts (Gov't Mule), Berry
Oakley, Jr. (OKB Band) and until his recent and unfortunate demise, Allen
Woody (Gov't Mule). Neel and Abts then went into the Straight Up Sound
Studio and recorded the X2 project which was graciously received by fans
and the media.
More recently, some of Neel penned songs have been recorded by Travis
Tritt, Montgomery Gentry and Delbert Mc Clinton. Neel is also excited
about his latest release on Breakin’ Records titled Gun Metal Blue, which
was release in April, 2004. As a man with boundless energy, Neel still
manages to juggle studio work, local club gigs, road work and hit song
writing, and somehow between the chaos maintains his sanity. “They say
that you can’t do it all; Hell, I’m trying to prove ‘em wrong.” - Johnny
Neel. |
Press Release:
Johnny Neel
& Criminal Element
Johnny has a smoking new band called The Criminal Element that is
really on the cutting edge. They can improvise better than most bands
could ever hope to. This new sound has given Johnny’s always tasteful
melodies a driving energy of their own. Johnny Neel and the Criminal
Element have just put out their second release in the past year. The band
is not slowing down at all. As a matter of fact their creativity is
accelerating due to the synergistic effect of all members pushing forward
and contributing to the overall sound. The Volume 2 release has expanded
on their Volume 1 release with the same fresh music and street-smart
lyrics that made "Johnny Neel & Criminal Element" Volume 1 such a
break-through recording. This new CD starts off like gangbusters. The
melodies are very catchy and the first track’s opening notes sound like a
majestic whirlwind keyboard, then suddenly locks down into a tight groove
mixed with some crafty sounding lyrics that are reminiscent of John
Popper’s Blues Traveler. The story invokes images of a long lost forbidden
love.
Track 2 starts off with a fast syncopated beat from drummer Curt
Redding that brings back fond memories of Les Claypool during his most
funky jams. The chorus of the song has a full sounding texture that hints
at a Widespread Panic-type of sound, then slows down and drifts off into a
jam band “space” during the break.
Track 3 allows Johnny to add some melodic keys while guitar player
Randy Boen shows off his amazing R&B vocal prowess, sounding like a
seasoned Al Green or Stevie Wonder.
On cut # 4, Smackin’ Pepper, Johnny brings back some of that
hard-driving thump from his earlier masterpiece, Paybacks a Bitch.
Clocking in at over 10 minutes, and coupled with some rich-sounding keys,
this one’s a real cooker!
Track 5 will surely be a crowd favorite at live shows, with its play on
words alluding to the pleasures of drinking good whiskey, referred to as
My Friend Mikey.
Track 6 is a great instrumental with some awesome keys that hint at Yes
or some of the other progressive rock bands from the past like Emerson
Lake and Palmer.
The seventh cut, Here Right Now, is my favorite, where Russell Wright
contributes a great bass solo and the muted trumpet keyboard effect sounds
almost like Charlie Brown’s teacher speaking to the listener.
The final track is an epic masterpiece describing a 24 hour day, it’s
sort of a concept medley with some heartfelt vocals by Randy and some cool
scatting by Johnny. I also love the way the song changes into a whole new
tune, between the waking hours and the dream sleep. The second half of the
tune has a Come Rain or Come Shine tease that cuts to your soul, and the
megaphone voiceover by Johnny reminds one of McCartney’s Uncle Albert
days.
The bonus cut, which has no name, I like to call Neely’s Horror Fest
because it sounds like a Rob Zombie film, with its kaleidoscope of
SoundBits, lustful imagery and demonic sounding echo voices.
This band has recently hit its stride and reached a new level of
playing, and there’s no stopping their combined force. They’re churning
them out so fast that I can’t wait to hear Volume 3 (or 4, 5, and 6)!
www.myspace.com/thecriminalelement
Barefoot Reviews
Pete McKernan
Copyright 2008 |
