JD McPherson Let The Good Times Roll (CD)

(Rounder REcords) 11 tracks, digisleeve

“I want to make a psychedelic fifties record!” Jonathan David McPherson, previously known as a rock'n'roll innovator, approached producer and sound engineer Mark Neill with this contradictory idea. JD McPherson and his band wanted to make sure that the recordings for their new album would still have the raw power they had before. But JD also wanted to capture the mysterious side of the many songs he loves so much.

Producer Mark Neill has been at the controls since the 80s. He began his career back then with the rockabilly band The Paladins, and more recently he has been in the studio a lot with the Black Keys and their frontman Dan Auerbach. Dan Auerbach in turn is a friend of JD McPherson and also co-wrote the track “Bridge Builder” for JD McPherson's new album “Let The Good Times Roll”.

“Let The Good Times Roll” sounds almost ironic as an album title, but is not meant to be. JD McPherson presents himself as a pioneer rather than a pure ruminant of a nostalgic genre. He shows us the lessons of the almost forgotten early days of rock 'n' roll and takes them further into twenty-first century studio technology and modern singer-songwriting.

“It's still a rock 'n' roll album, but we've pushed the boundaries a little bit,” McPherson says, describing the music on his new album. “We intended to find another sound - I think hi-fi is the right term - and get a little more experimental.” JD McPherson is still adamant about one thing: “Everybody likes rock & roll”.

JD McPherson continues to develop his urban mix of rockabilly, blues and soul into rock 'n' roll for the 21st century. Let the “good times” begin today.