TruVine is their eighth album, two years after Can’t Change It and contains some songs previously recorded in the past on the debut Blue Morning, Satisfy you and Midnight in Mississippi – in new versions. These include the nocturnal blues Lifetime Worth Of Blues, soft and sweaty without the violin of the original, Which Side Of Heartache, a country waltz with the addition of the accordion, Midnight In Mississippi with Luther Dickinson on the slide that recalls the sound of JJ Cale, author of the ballad, I Guess I Lose, performed in a slow and swampy mode with a brittle Dylan-esque voice.

The ominous and aggressive Satisfy You opens the disc and is one of the best tracks with Up Jumped The Devil, a remake of a Robert Johnson song and the up-tempo juke-joint Change My Mind with Jerry Portnoy’s harmonica. There are no negligible traces even in the final part of the disc in which the traditional gospel Devil Try To Steal My Joy in a swamp-rock version and the jazzy and nocturnal My Epitaph, cover by Ola Bell Reed, enriched by a horn section worthy of New Orleans. TruVine is the confirmation of a band that it would be a pleasure to be able to hear live in our area.

Paul Baiotti, The Vinyl Legacy Association blog

http://www.lateforthesky.org/2022/11/17/the-mystix-truvine/

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Lily has a voice that reminds me of Roger Chapman (Family, Streetwalkers) with a raspy vibrato and a soulful delivery. It certainly adds great character to these songs and the fine guitar playing heightens the experience with an atmospheric edge. The project delivers songs that include personal demons, dealing with lost love and down-on-your-luck laments.

Opening with Satisfy You and a slow menacing groove that teases, the arrangement builds with guitars and organ fueling the dramatic interplay. It lays down a real marker of what is to follow on this very impressive album.
Lifetime Worth Of Blues is a sensual delve into the pot of heartbreak that epitomizes the blues genre. Up Jumped the Devil has a wicked drum shuffle and a pulsing bass line that underpins the guitar and organ layers of sonic attack. Lily singing like his life is on the line and wringing great dynamics from the arrangement. A standout.

I Guess I Lose is another terrific song, all slow burn and regret as Lily sings of losing in the game of love. Again, a great band execution delivers a very convincing country inflected blues. The easy groove of Midnight In Mississippi is another addictive track and the understated guitar riff warms the soul.

On it goes, with hardly a weak track and Sugar Baby reminds me of the deepest Muddy Waters workouts, with superb guitar and banjo interplay underpinning the passionate vocals of Lily. Devil Try To Steal My Joy is a prime example of the band tucked into a deep groove and Lily laying down his vocal licks on top of the dangerously cool ensemble playing.

My Epitaph includes clarinet, trumpet and trombone in a slight departure from the other tracks, and the country sound of Which Side Of Heartache ’22 is a perfect song for the great Willie Nelson to cover.
Change My Mind has some mean harmonica parts from Jerry Portnoy, one of thirteen guest players on the album. Other guests include the impressive talents of Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars), Doug Lancio (Bob Dylan, John Hiatt), Duke Levine (Shawn Colvin, Bonnie Raitt), Spooner Oldham (Aretha Franklin, Muscle Shoals house band), and many others…

Without having credits as to who played on what track, it is hard to identify all the parts that come together to make up this very impressive whole. However, across forty-plus minutes the eleven songs are an example of this band at the height of their powers. They have certainly made records that come close to matching the peaks of this one, but they certainly have not made a better album. A real keeper and one of my albums of the year so far.

Review by Paul McGee

Checkout the author at https://www.lonesomehighway.com/music-reviews/2022/9/26/new-album-reviews

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“I don’t need no more TV, all that stuff they’re spinning me, I’ve got better things to do, I just want to satisfy you.” That’s how the first song, “Satisfy You”, begins and clearly shows what the guys in the band think is important. Back To The Roots, maybe a return to old and genuine values? Focusing on honesty, not appearances? If that’s the way it’s meant to be, then it’s musically successful, with this sound that is almost reminiscent of swamp rock, and a touch of the bombastic atmosphere of the southern states of the USA, played shirt-sleeved and to the point, full of emotion and down-to-earth.

Jo Lily’s rough and hauntingly raspy voice is also remarkable. It literally creeps into your soul, and the band powerfully underpins this mood. There are a number of excellent guest musicians who support this powerful mix of Louisiana Swamp, elastic rock with a springy groove and a touch of blues, soul, country, even a little jazz. Luther Dickinson, Jerry Portnoy and Spooner Oldham, among others, appear.

Compared to the predecessor, I have the impression that The Mystix influences and design have become more pronounced, the sound is more uniform and bears a truly independent and individual stamp with a high degree of recognition. The band seems fresher and has understood how to combine the different influences perfectly. The sound gets under your skin, is intoxicating and simply gives you a lot of listening pleasure, the passion is infectious and irresistible.

But it doesn’t always have to be danceable and shake your outer extremities, because slow creepers like “I Guess I Lose” can also make your heart happy. The regular cast has changed only a little, but that shouldn’t have had a major impact. The twin lead guitars by Bobby Keyes and Stu Kimball, and the guests round off the whole thing more than harmoniously, everything sounds rich and full and full of deep emotions.

Already two years ago I noticed that this band should finally move into the front row, and with this excellent album full of powerfully emotionally influenced music I can only emphasize that more than expressly! This band deserves to be heard (and experienced)!

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His very lived-in voice can be heard in Satisfy You. A blues of the very soggy and sultry kind with hard twanging guitars and a stiffly pumping rhythm section. Lifetime Worth Of Blues sounds soft, sweaty and heaving with reverberating and piercing guitars. Up Jumped The Devil is a Robert Johnson cover and is a dangerously rocking song with Jo’s mesmerizing vocals. I Guess I Lose is a song by J.J. Cale and sounds very intimate, fragile, and laid back. Luther Dickinson performs the brooding funk of Midnight In Mississippi, which creates a swampy kind of J.J. Cale sound. Sugar Baby is a cover of the relatively unknown “Dock” Boggs and is an extremely gritty blues, pounding relentlessly. Change My Mind also stomps with Jerry Portnoy’s passionately roaring harmonica. Jo Lily’s vocals sound fragile and broken in the country waltz Which Side Of Heartache. The band-like gospel song I’ll Do It For You is followed by the ominous Devil Try To Steal My Joy, which sounds like a Captain Beefheart gospel. The closing track is a cover of Ola Bell Reed’s My Epitaph, a slow-moving gospel march.

Album number six by the Mystix has become a very special and very tasty album full of raw blues!

https://www.muziekwereld.com/the_mystix.1.htm

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“I don’t need no more TV, all that stuff they’re spinning me, I’ve got better things to do, I just want to satisfy you.” That’s how the first song, “Satisfy You”, begins and clearly shows what the guys in the band think is important. Back to the roots, maybe a return to old and genuine values. Focusing on honesty, not appearances. If that’s the way it’s meant to be, then it’s musically successful, with this sound that is almost reminiscent of swamp rock, and a touch of the bombastic atmosphere of the southern states of the USA, played shirt-sleeved and to the point, full of emotion and down-to-earth.

Jo Lily’s rough and hauntingly raspy voice is also remarkable, it literally creeps into your soul, and the band powerfully underpins this mood. There are a number of excellent guest musicians who support this powerful mix of Louisiana swamp, elastic rock with a springy groove and a touch of blues, soul, country, even a little jazz. Luther Dickinson, Jerry Portnoy and Spooner Oldham, among others, appearing on the album.

Compared to the predecessor, I have the impression that The Mystix influences, and design have become more pronounced, the sound is more uniform and bears a truly independent and individual stamp with a high degree of recognition. The band seems fresher and has understood how to combine the different influences perfectly. The sound gets under your skin, is intoxicating and simply gives you a lot of listening pleasure. The passion is infectious and irresistible.

But it doesn’t always have to be danceable and shake your outer extremities, because slow creepers like “I Guess I Lose” can also make your heart happy. The regular cast has changed only a little, but that shouldn’t have had a major impact. The twin lead guitars by Bobby Keyes and Stu Kimball, and the guests round off the whole thing more than harmoniously, everything sounds rich and full and full of deep emotions.

Already two years ago I noticed that this band should finally move into the front row, and with this excellent album full of powerfully emotionally influenced music I can only emphasize that more than expressly! This band deserves to be heard (and experienced)!

• Wolfgang Giese (https://www.musikansich.de/review.php?id=23460)

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Try to imagine the following: Howlin’ Wolf as the singer of an Americana band or Captain Beefheart who sings the blues with devotion. Both fantasies come true on the seventh album by the American band the Mystix. A band consisting of Jo Lily (vocals, ex-Duke & the Drivers), Bobby Keyes (guitar, a studio musician i.a. with Mary J. Blige), Tom

West (keyboard), Marty Ballow (bass), Duke Levine (guitar) and Mario Giovino (drums, producer), plus guests Luther & Cody Dickinson of the North Mississippi Allstars and Charlie McCoy on the harmonica.

Their album is divided into a bluesy half and an Americana half. The bluesy side is very raw in Jumper On The Line…a banging song with harrowing hard guitar work and a grinding sound. Cody & Luther Dickinson of the North Mississippi Allstars are guests on this song. The pumping Brand New Love sounds like Captain Beefheart, who sings the blues in a slow sweltering shuffle. Followed by the sweltering blues Wouldn’t Mind Dyin’. Going To The River is a semi-acoustic pumping blues with a “Key To The Highway” like melody and a cutting fiddle. The relaxed shuffle from the Americana songs jump Ain’t Gonna Cry out with hard burning guitar play. The gently swaying ballad Carrie has a considerable Springsteen influence (especially “Sandy”).

Let’s Get Started sounds intimate, like the better Mark Knopfler work with a languid “hi de hi, hi de ho” feel. Charlie McCoy performs with his atmospheric wailing harmonica in the ballad Brand New Love. A song with a high Kris Kristofferson content. The cover of the Rolling Stones song is truly beautiful Backstreet Girl. I Can’t Change It sounds like a Bob Seger ballad but with Theo van Es (from our Shoes) as the singer. Dreamers Holiday is an atmospheric intimate jazzy song, and Jumper On The Line (edit) closes the album.

The Mystix has delivered a very enjoyable album, which is a must have for both blues and Americana fans.

Reviewer: Peter Marinus Source: www.bluestownmusic.nl

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“The Mystix are simply brilliant, and its message combine tradition and modern details, around mentioned forms, in best possible way.”

The Mystix are Boston, Phoenix roots supergroup, with 6 albums in their collection. They are known for attractive concert performances across the US and Europe, and also its career has a respectable status too.
“Live-Rhythm And Roots” is their actual product with 19 tracks in, recorded and taped from 4 different locations. Fronted by vocalist and guitarist Jo Lily, The Mystix deliver refine portions of roots rock, americana, country blues , done with strong energy and emotions. They performed on simply, but clear and convincible way. Songs are listenable, and band knows how to be educative to their listeners and audience, when start to perform each tact of offering show. The Mystix are simply brilliant, and its message combine tradition and modern details, around mentioned forms, in best possible way.

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The Mystix serve up a delectable mix of blues, R&B, country, and rock with Blue Morning. These musicians are at their finest, and have crafted an album full of soul that could easily become a new favorite of any music lover.

Jo Lily – the band’s front man – plays acoustic and slide guitar, and sings with the raspy voice of Tom Waits, Dr, John, and Bob Dylan. Bobby Keyes, who has recorded with greats like Jerry Lee Lewis and Ben E. King, plays guitar and his excellent skill dazzles. He can switch from funky blues style to rock riffs effortlessly. Bassist Marty Ballou and drummers, Marty Richards and Dennis McDermott, round out the Boston-based group. Keyes and Lily co-produced the CD.

While all ten songs on Blue Morning are good, some standout a little extra. A Change in Jane is a ballad that would fit nicely on one of Dylan’s later albums or pass for one of Van Morrison’s movie songs. It’s strong on visual imagery and leaves you wanting more, as it’s a short song. The spirited rhythms on the aptly named New Orleans set the scene for a rollicking street party in The Big Easy. New Orleans is the liveliest song on Blue Morning. Another lively tune is The Mystix’s cover of Rattled. And while the Traveling Wilburys: Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne and Roy Orbison are and were the masters, The Mystix’s version just might beat the original.

The title track slows things down a bit. It’s a heartbreak song that offers the hope of a new day. Which Side of Heartache is a true weepy country tune and is reminiscent of The Tennessee Waltz. Hi-Line is a great closer for Blue Morning. It’s a last call for whiskey and a last request for the band type of song.

The Mystix’s Blue Morning is a solid album by a masterful band that mixes genres seamlessly. It’s got something for everyone. Blue Morning is a great example of how good songwriting and instrumentation can create a perfect listening experience.

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