The Mighty Jeremiahs: It’s Rock, It’s Gospel, It’s Blues, and It’s Good for Your Soul

by John Moses in Album Reviews, Reviews

 Jimmy Hall, the lead singer for the Mighty Jeremiahs, described their music as, “ZZ Top meets Mountain and goes to church.” It’s not often that you find music that’s as elemental and powerful as The Mighty Jeremiahs’. These guys truly makes a “joyful noise.” It’s raw, passionate and fun. If you like guitar-driven rock and blues, you should enjoy this music, whether you’re more spiritual or more secular. OK, so you might say that gospel music isn’t your thing. I can accept that, but if you don’t give this CD a chance, you’ll miss one of the best “plug-in-your-electric-guitar-to-a- stack-of-amps-and-let-it-wail” records in years. If you crank up the volume on the first cut and leave it there, you just might get closer to God.

One reason why this music is so vital is that the musicianship is so good. On top of that, these guys are having fun. The two guys out in front of this music are Greg Martin and Jimmy Hall.

Let’s start with Greg Martin on guitar, because the first sound you hear on the album is some moaning feedback. Martin is the lead guitarist for the Kentucky Headhunters and he simply rips it up here. The first song, “John the Revelator”, isn’t like any gospel song I’ve ever heard, and Hallelujah for that. Before you can catch your breath from that song, “Judgment Day” starts up with some sweet slide guitar and a growling rhythm guitar. He even contributes a vocal on “It’s Been a Good Day.”

Jimmy Hall is the primary singer for the band, and he sings like he means it. He has one of the great voices in Southern rock. He belts it out on songs like “John the Revelator,”  “Walk with Me Jesus,” “Testify,” and a killer version of the Staple Singers‘ 1971 hit, “Respect Yourself.” Of course, he demonstrates range by doing a soulful country blues version of “Amazing Grace.”  Plus, he contributes some soulful sax and harmonica playing. I grew up in the South, and maybe it’s just me, but I get some particular pleasure out of hearing Hall’s down-home Southern accent on words like “nekkid” (that’s “naked” for all those born above the Mason-Dixon Line),  “yonder,” and “y’all.” 

The rhythm section comes over from a band called the Taildraggers, which is a three-piece southern rock outfit. They lay down a rock solid bottom end so that Hall and Martin can blaze away.

And, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Kevin McKendree on keyboards, who tours with Delbert McClinton. The more I listened to this album, the more his keyboards emerged and I realized how brilliantly they mixed in and enhanced each song he played on.

As I’ve listened to this disc in my car for the past month, there are a couple of particular moments of musical religious experience that are worth pointing out here. First, while I know this might sound a bit weird, the opening 15 seconds of “Respect Yourself” are about as good as a rock song’s opening gets. Within those first 15 seconds, I’m totally sucked in and revved up. The second inspirational moment is the interplay of jaw-dropping organ, crunchy guitars, and a great guitar solo on “Testify.” It is one of the best songs on this, or any other, rock album I’ve heard in years. I’m not overstating the case, either. 

I’ll stop there. You really should go buy this.