Forget everything you ever knew about
John Popper and
Blues Traveler. This is no jam band but they can play some. The
John Popper Project features former
BT bandmate
Tad Kinchla, Marcus Bleecker and
DJ Logic (who gets separate billing, for some reason). Produced by
Craig Street, with a small stew of guests including
Warren Haynes,
Cyro Baptista,
David Torn, rapper Greenweedz,
Glenn Patscha, and vocalist
Amy Helm, this is one steamy, groove-laden set that offers a view of
Popper as not just a harmonica master who can play dozens of them through more effects that you can shake a speaker at, but as a serious
funk and futuristic
r&b vocalist -- most folks knew he could sing
pop and rock. That's not to say this set is without its flaws. It has some, but the music is also challenging in places, different than anything else that's out there, and usually knows when to give it up. The set begins with a sultry
funk number called "Lapdance" with a sample from
James Brown's "Popcorn With a Feeling" and some neat loops by
Logic. It's followed by "Everything," a rock number with some drop-dead sonic
funk drops in between refrain and new verses and in the bridge. "All Good Children" opens with a break loop and three times the tempo of this folksy little
pop tune as scratches and guitar are layered through the opening verse. This is a tender side of
Popper, and it's refreshing, but it gets old so thankfully there's a great harmonica break and lots of rhythm. The cuts that work best are those that are far outside the norm, like the opener, and "Fire in Her Kiss," and "Trigger," where
funk, rock, and the
blues are woven together by that nasty-ass harmonica of his and
Logic's samples. The bomb drops on these tracks, and to a lesser degree on the more
r&b-oriented cuts like "Took" and the closer "Pack Your Love." The more rock-directed efforts where there is some "jamming" involved lose their wallop after a couple of minutes and one wonders what comes next -- this might feel and sound very different in a live setting, however. Thus, this is an imperfect but fascinating project with more than enough interesting ideas, just give them one more album to put it all together. That said, there's more than enough here to engage a listener for most of its hour-long expanse. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
