Back in the Game (Syl Johnson album)
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| Back in the Game | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1994 | |||
| Recorded | 1994 | |||
| Genre | Soul, R&B, blues | |||
| Label | Delmark[1] | |||
| Producer | Pete Nathan | |||
| Syl Johnson chronology | ||||
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Back in the Game is an album by the American musician Syl Johnson.[2][3] It was released in 1994. Johnson had not recorded an album since the 1980s, but had witnessed a revival of his music due its use as samples in hip hop production.[4][5] Back in the Game was named the best blues album of 1994 by Living Blues.[6]
On the majority of its tracks, the album marked a reunion between Johnson and the Hi Rhythm Section.[7] It was produced by Pete Nathan.[8] Johnson duets with his daughter Syleena on "Dipped in the Water".[9] Back in the Game contains covers of Magic Sam's "All Your Love" and Little Junior Parker's version of "Driving Wheel".[10]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [11] |
| Chicago Tribune | [9] |
| Robert Christgau |  [12] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [1] |
| MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide | [13] |
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote that Johnson's "vocals swoop, charge, lunge, and bark with all the mastery of a classic soul singer, but his songs are rarely melodically complex, nor do they develop linearly."[14] The Chicago Tribune called the album "a stunning return to form," writing that "Johnson's voice is still a piercing, bittersweet instrument and his guitar-playing remains tersely eloquent"; the paper later listed Back in the Game as the second best contemporary blues album of 1994.[9][15]
The Washington Post thought that it "shows [Johnson's] funky blues and soul skills remain surprisingly intact, as does the sinewy sensuality of his vocals."[16] Deeming the music Chicago R&B, the Chicago Sun-Times wrote that the album "showcases the intrinsic charms of the form, recalling the days when R&B record companies like One-derful, Brunswick and Vee-Jay flourished on South Michigan Avenue."[17]
AllMusic wrote that "although the Chicagoan moves into 12-bar blues territory on 'All of Your Love' and Roosevelt Sykes' 'Driving Wheel', it must be stressed that the majority of songs on this album are soul rather than blues."[11] MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide opined that the album "may contain the best version of the much-recorded Al Green song 'Take Me to the River'."[13]