John Cox in Concert - January 29, 2011
Artist: John Cox
Label:  Independent
Release Date: January, 2011
Duration:  3 tracks, 12:46

John Cox again! Often, the term ‘again’ has a negative connotation – ‘taxes AGAIN, snow AGAIN!’ Not in this case.  Annually, John Cox and band make a pilgrimage to the Cup ‘O Joy music venue in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Highlighting this visit was the debut of 3 new songs bringing the Cox fan back to early offerings of Sunny Day and 80 Years. These were Cox’s initial recordings earmarking Cox as one of the genre’s most talented writers / performers.

While each of the 2 sets the band performed this night included Cox highlights, the 3 songs debuted stood tall on their own. Filled with layered guitars and solid percussion these new entries harkened back to his early years with gritty guitar and wrenching vocals pulled from heart-felt experience. New songs include:
 

“Son You Always Wanted” - a hot electric guitar leading the lyrics ‘You’re the one that came to save me, you’re the one who pulled me up from the dust’, telling the story of personal redemption. The song is full of well-placed breaks highlighting classic Cox vocals of passion and purpose.

Someone To Blame It On” – Cox’s personalized lyrics bring out emotions buried deep in all of us, here telling the story of youthful pride and its sense of immortality where a full life’s experience has shown us ‘Life is very temporary, so much more than this’.

“Say The Word” – tells the story of devotion with ‘Just say the word, my heart will burn for you’.

Giving of his deepest emotions without reservation in lyrics and performance is a John Cox trade mark. A prolific song writer and soulful performer, he expresses truthfully what each of us has felt at varying points in our lives. His life stories have found a place in ours.

http://www.myspace.com/johnbcox
 

Scott S. Mertens