JP SOARS: Brick by Brick

JP Soars is no one-trick pony on guitar as proven on his latest CD drop, Brick by Brick, an 11-track package from the hot shot guitarist/vocalist, who also features himself on dobro, banjo, bass, lap steel, dulcimer, jaw harp, and a two-string cigar box guitar.

The core band features Anne Harris on fiddle, Terry Hanck on tenor sax, Bob Taylor on organ, Jake Jacobs on harmonica, Chris Peet on drums, with Annika Chambers and Paul DesLaurier providing background vocals.

Soars shines on his electric guitar solos on the straight-ahead blues/rock tunes, particularly on the opening title track, “Brick by Brick,” as well as Little Milton’s “That’s What Love Will Make You Do,” in tandem with honkin’ tenor sax phrases from Hanck.

In the similar mold, “Honey and Hash,” is fueled by Jacobs’ harmonica licks amid lyrics from Lea McIntosh. “My baby knows the secret, she gives me a little bit of this, she sends me to the moon and back, with a little bit of that.”

Soars struts his hot-lick country phrases on steel guitar and banjo on “Can’t Keep Her Off My Mind,” complemented by Harris’ tasty fiddle motifs, not to be outdone by “Merlin Stomp,” replete with an “Orange Blossom Special” up-tempo train rhythm, led by Harris’ burning fiddle licks front and center.

Soars gets down and dirty with some mean slide guitar, riffing on “The Good Lord Will Provide,” with some instructive lyrics. “Be mindful of your neighbor, remember that we’re all in this together.” He throws the whole kitchen sink at us on “Things Ain’t Working Out,” with torrid guitar, steel, and dobro licks while teasing us with some slick gypsy-tinged blues licks on the minor key surf goody “Jezebel,” which channels Mark Knopfler.

Soars surprises once again with his diverse musical vocabulary, churning out a funky gospel groove on “Keep Good Company,” behind the lyric “…when you fly too close to the sun, you might never come down, back down to the ground, you gotta keep good company,” supported appropriately by Taylor’s driving keys accompaniment on the Hammond B3 organ and the soulful background vocals from Chambers and DesLauriers.

Soars breaks up his original vocal tunes with a gorgeous instrumental nylon-string guitar composition “In the Moment,” demonstrating that his compositional depth is not just based on the obligatory 12-bar blues/rock blueprint.

Just when you thought you had heard all the musical twists and turns, the closing track, “Down by the Water,” is set to a pulsating ska rhythm, with Soars’ final message: “Down near the water, that’s the place to be.”

The place to catch JP Soars and the Red Hots is “down by the water” at Humphreys Backstage Live (2241 Shelter Island Dr.) on Monday, October 7, 6pm.