The album opens with "I've Got To Know," the first of several tracks written by producer Jimmy Morello (which appeared on his 1998 CD "The Road I Travel" on JSP Records). It chugs along nicely and offers newcomers a first taste of Ross' big fat harp sound. It is swiftly backed up by another three Morello tunes, where Ross puts the band through their paces and they come up to the mark collectively and individually, and lays down some tasty licks on chromatic and diatonic harps.

Following an uptempo interpretation of Jimmy Reed's "Ain't That Lovin' Ya Baby?" Ross really comes into his own on the instrumental, "Doggin' It." If the sign of a master harp man is how well he handles a chromatic, this one shows that Ross is right up there with the best of them. It is a cracking tune that bounds along very energetically, before Ross digs into the Morello songbook once more.

After romping through Clarke's "Pawnshop Bound," which features some Jerry McCain-like "Scratch My Back" interludes, Willie Dixon's "Young Fashioned Ways," where Ross sings through the harp mic, and one more Morelli number"Can't Get No Rest," Ross polishes the chromatic for one last shot. "Top Hat" is an easy going, finger snapping jazzy number, where Ross' playing once more calls to mind William Clarke.

"Loaded" is one of the best debut albums of the year. JT Ross is a mighty fine harp player, with a good voice. The only minor drawback is the lack of original material, but Ross is still only in his early 20's, so there's plenty of time for the songwriting talent to develop. Pairing him with William Clarke's band was an inspired move for his first album, but I hope it does not mean that he ends up being labeled as the new William Clarke. "Loaded" shows that Ross is a major harp talent that is well worth checking out.

www.southsidela.net
www.jtross.com

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