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Bob Benjamin
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Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Thursday, Sept. 7, 2006
For The Record
Records are rated on a scale of one (poor) to five (excellent) stars:
JOE GRUSHECKY 'A GOOD LIFE' (SCHOOLHOUSE)
****
Along with the usual things a parent learns from a child -- love, patience, understanding -- Joe Grushecky has managed to stay in touch with the current music scene through his teenage son Johnny, who fronts a band himself.
Grushecky mentioned in a recent conversation that one of his favorite young bands is Taking Back Sunday.
Fortunately, the veteran Pittsburgh rocker isn't trying to add emo to his palette. Grushecky sticks with the blue-collar rock 'n' roll that he knows best on "A Good Life," his seventh record since parting with the Iron City Houserockers in the late '80s.
The big news here, certain to be riling up the folks at backstreets.com, is that Grushecky has Bruce Springsteen along for the ride for the first time since 1995's "American Babylon." They open the album together on "Code of Silence," a fierce rocker that won Bruce a performance Grammy last year. A song about breaking down the barriers of communication between a husband and wife, they blast through it with the urgency of men who have lived through the experience.
From there, the album proceeds to delve into that communication and explore relationships in ways Grushecky never has before. "Is She the One" and "Party Tonight" could have been Houserockers songs, even as one deals with the beginnings of romance and the other with re-sparking it.
But we haven't heard much from Grushecky like "A Good Life," a bouncy celebration of domestic life with Bruce singing along on "I got two kids, two cats/A good dog and a lucky hat/An old house, a fast car/but I don't go very far."
The new wrinkle in his life is Grushecky reaching the age where his children are leaving the nest and he's dealing with the emotions of letting go. On the lovely "Beauty Fades," it's just him and his wife and he knows that time has passed, "Shut the door, dim the lights/Thank our stars for tonight/I won't kid myself/I can't fool time/But I'm so glad you're still mine."
There are some interruptions to this good life, though. "Too Hot to Think," with a snarling blues riff, is a dirty indiscretion with a bad woman, complete with sultry vocals from Margot B.
Grushecky looks further afield on "Searching for My Soul," a rocker that deals with fears during wartime, and the bonus track, "Lake Pontchartrain," his reaction to the government's mishandling of Katrina.
As the album closes, he pairs two songs about fatherhood. On the gentle "Father and Son," he watches his young son grow up and reflects on the values his own father taught him. The album-closing "Safe at Home" opens with a menacing minor chord and "a bad wind blowing tonight." It turns into a prayer for his boy -- "Where is my Johnny?/Is he afraid and all alone" -- and, before Grushecky and producer Rick Witkowski ride it out with a nine-minute guitar jam, a prayer for mankind: "Hold on everybody/hold on to your lives/hold on to your family/ain't it good to be alive."
Obviously, these aren't themes that are going to excite the Taking Back Sunday crowd, but hand it to Grushecky for his vitality and for dealing with mature issues while remaining a true Houserocker.
-- Scott Mervis,
Post-Gazette pop music critic
7 September 2006 - NJ
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Hard Rocking Houserocker
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09.22.06 Joe Grushecky CD Release Party HRC Pittsburgh
6 September 2006 - Station Square
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Jimmy Sinclair
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Joe - Good luck on the new CD. It sounds like it's doing well so-far, and you are finally getting the credit and accolades you worked so hard for, and deserve.
6 September 2006 - Biddle, PA (BIDDLEFEST XVII, Sept 16th!!!)
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Houserocker fan
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Jimmy and Randy were raving about the new cd this morning on DVE. They played "Code" and it sounded great!!!
6 September 2006 - In My Car Stuck On The Parkway
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Joe G
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For all the Steeler Fans out there! I will send a free copy of my new CD "A Good Life" if you can tell me what time, what the score was when you heard Code of Silence played at this weeks home opener against Miami.
5 September 2006 - Steeler Country
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Mgt.
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Last week "Code of Silence" had 13 plays on WDVE! This is great and without your request we couldn't have done it. Keep up the good work! A station in Wilmington NC (WUIN) played 4 tracks and are excited about this cd. The orders for the new cd have been unbelievable.The orders from across the pond have been from so many countries. To name a few where Joe has fans, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Uk, Spain, Holland, Belguim, France and Italy! Here in the USA, orders placed are from Pa, NJ, NY, VA,MA, MI, LA, MD, UT, GA, IA, CA, OH, NV, FLa, and Texas. Finally "They get it" THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, LET'S KEEP THIS ROCK'N
5 September 2006 - NJ
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desiree
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CD IN STORES TODAY!...GO BUY "A GOOD LIFE" you will definitely get your moneys worth!!! BEST CD THAT HE'S PUT OUT IN YEARS BY FAR...HANDS DOWN!!!
5 September 2006 - IUP
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Danny G
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Alex, I believe the song you're asking about is "Biddle Mine", a beautiful tribute to Joe's grandfather. I hope this helps.
5 September 2006
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Alex K
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At Johnstown Folkfest, the band played a song with 'Lord Have Mercy' in both English and Slovanic. What was the song?
5 September 2006
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Joe G Fan
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Check out MTV News online. Joe's cd A Good Life gets mentioned for New Releases today. How exciting!
5 September 2006 - Oakmont
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