Track listing: Falling In Deep, I Feel Alive, Cayenne Rain, Reelin’ & Rockin’, Tell Me, I Don’t Know, Any Way I Do, Harder Than This, Can’t Stop A Dream, Jive Time Mind, Lil’ Miss Hustle, Brother Tom, Any Way I Do (Alt. Version)
My new thing while writing reviews is to drop a few curses in casually to express my feelings. So goddamn this sure is a fun Asbury Park style, old school, rock n roll record! There are fast-rockin' bops, mid-tempo dramatics, and heartstring-pulling ballads on son-of-Elizabeth, NJ's Joe Boris' new album entitled Arising.
Boris has been around the scene for 30-40 years sharing stages with the likes of Clarence Clemons, Bob Weir, Warren Haynes, and many more. So when he sits down to record some songs, it's not like he doesn't know his way around a studio or have a lack of connections with A-list musicians.
Arising is an album that could sit right alongside any of the big albums to come out of Asbury's scene over the past half-century. You just hear in every note, every progression, and every instrumental fill, eons of hands-on musical expertise and vibe.
He's got "Harder Than This" up on YouTube for your listening pleasure, but on my first few listens a few others jumped out at me. "Reelin' & Rockin'" transports me to The Stone Pony late in the evening after a few beers and laughs with my buddies, as we pretend we don't need to get to work the next morning. It's a true boogie-woogie rocker in all the right ways with its Little Richard bouncing on the piano and blistering distorted blues guitar leads.
"I Don't Know" transports me to the sound that influenced early 80s Bon Jovi (and somehow Aldo Nova around that era, as well). Super plaintive vocals and chord progressions that just rip your heart out with longing, heartache, and another searing guitar solo thrown in for good measure. Following "I Don't Know" is a cute "Any Way I Do," a tune in the vein of Van Morrison's "Days Like This" -- honest, simple yet universal to everyone listening.
Arising is a really enjoyable record. Throw it on your playlists right alongside Southside Johnny, The Boss, my buddies in Boccigalupe & The Bad Boys...the whole New Jersey gang. And check out everything you need to know about Joe Boris at j-boris.com. Give 'im a follow on the socials & streaming platforms--he and the band are real life musicians who deserve a real life crowd of real life music aficionados.