Review: Robert Jon & The Wreck – Shine A Light On Me Brother

September 3rd 2021

Reviewer: Dan Mann

Robert Jon & The Wreck return with album number three, ‘Shine A Light On Me Brother‘, on September 3rd, an album that’s self produced, which can sometimes be the deathnail, but let’s start this here review by letting you know that the production values are very high indeed.

The production of an album is something people hear about but don’t always understand the mechanics as it were. I’m certainly no expert on the subject, but I know what does and doesn’t sound good/right! I do all my reviewing through a decent setup which highlights any shortcomings, but ‘Shine A Light On Me Brother‘ just sounds superb. The treble is the right side of sweet, not harsh, the bass is taught and punchy with no boominess, and the seperation of the vocals and instruments is spot on.

And so to the actual content. There are ten tracks, with an overall run time of a tad under 3/4 of an hour, so no being short changed here.

Proceedings are kicked off with the album’s title track, which is an upbeat number, full of honky-tonk piano, saxophone and a fast driven beat. If your feet don’t immediatly start tapping then I’m afraid there’s something wrong with you..

The album is the perfect mix of blues and blues rock. Be it bordering on the tradtional on the aptly named ‘Chicago‘, or the barroom blues of final track ‘Radio‘.

There’s just the right mixture of tempo, with say the afore mentioned ‘Radio‘ being at the energetic end of the spectrum and then there’s the slower numbers like ‘Hurricane‘ with it’s beautiful accoustic guitar, one of my favorite songs on the album. Or the mellow ‘Desert Sun‘, another favorite for me.

If I could sum this album up with only one word, it would be joyous. I’ve played it quite a few times, each time hearing things I’d not heard before or found the songs even more enveloping.

‘Shine A Light On Me Brother‘ is just quality through & through, a must buy!

Also you’ll be pleased to hear, Robert Jon & The Wreck are over in Blighty next month on tour with the superb Troy Redfern as their support. Grab yourselves tickets, you won’t be disappointed.