Jo Jo Gunne - Jo Jo Gunne

Jo Jo Gunne were one of the first acts signed to David Geffen's newly minted Asylum Records in 1972. The band sounded a bit like Grand Funk at times, and while the band was heavy they were more of a boogie woogie rock band than the blues based bands like Led Zeppelin or early Sabbath.

I'd never heard of the band before finding their '73 album Bite Down Hard and it was good enough to put the band on my radar. Although it turns out I had heard them before, I just didn't remember. I actually have "Run Run Run" on a few classic rock compilations in the basement. It's funny that while the song registered as kind of cool I never remembered the band.

Not like it matters at all.

So here we have the debut released in '72 and the band kicked off side one with "Run Run Run" that sets the tone for the rest of the record, and boy howdy do the fellows deliver. It's still a bit of a conundrum as to why this didn't catch on and break the band to a wider audience. Sure the songs were a bit on the hippy dippy side, this was '72 after all but you can tell the guys had a strong sense of melody and the guys could have easily made small adjustments as times changed. Heck their label mates the Eagles weren't the same band they started out as by the time they finished their long run.

Anyway, woulda - shoulda - didn't.

I suppose I could stop there, but I won't because I have more to say and while the band may not have gotten the love when they needed it, I can at least try and throw a little their way posthumously.

Debut albums more often than not capture a band at their hungriest and the songs have often been road tested and polished through trial and error.

The band was comprised of Jay Ferguson who played keyboards and was the band's lead vocalist and primary songwriter. Guitarist Matthew Andes co-wrote several of the songs on the album with Jay, including "Run Run Run." Matthew was a really competent player, and my goodness he had tone for days and his slide and solo work was right in the pocket. Mark Andres who was Matthew's brother anchored the bottom end on bass with Curley Smith sitting on the throne and keeping things groovy.

The first side is all killer. There isn't a weak song here. Oddly for me the song I keep coming back to is "I Make Love" which is the best song Grand Funk never did. The staccato piano is deliciously countered by a great guitar riff.  

Side two only has four songs which seems odd as they didn't have anything overly long. Who knows maybe they had run run run out of ideas (I know, I know but it seemed like a good idea at the time). Opening with "99 Days" that showcases both Jay's keyboards and Matthew's guitar playing as they play off each other. The only song that didn't really work for me was "Academy Award" as it was an odd clunky song but it did grow on me after a while.

The album closes out with "Flying Home" that dialed the volume back and settled into a comfortable laid back groove. They were from California after all. While not much more than a generic pop song it was a nice way to close out a pretty solid record.

The band would end up releasing three studio albums over a couple of years and after their 1974 live album that was it. Then it was Jo Jo Gone.

Still they left behind some pretty cool music.