AJ Croce
By Request
(Compass)
8/10
By Decibel Report - Feb 2, 2021

In any lesser hands, this disparate set of covers of much loved and deep cut songs would work just fine due to the quality of the original songwriting alone. Put into the hands, voice and creative vision of an artist with a storied pedigree and they sing a much higher tune; one that is long steeped in the cultural melting pot from whence they originated.

Inspired by the late-night musical gatherings at his Nashville home with friends, taking requests from his piano, By Request revisits these twilight soirees with a full band to pull out a diverse set of ditties with a distinctive New Orleans juke-joint feel running like quicksilver through the veins of these re-imagined tunes.

Having long stepped out of the shadow of his father, Jim Croce, Croce the younger exquisitely covers Randy Newman's Have You Seen My Baby; Newman, sharing a bill with his father, being the first show AJ attended.

Deep cut rarity Ain't No Justice by Shorty Long and Billy Preston's Nothing From Nothing, plus the legendary N'Awlins maestro Allen Toussaint's Brickyard Blues, reveal the breadth of finely sourced material within. Add to these interpretations of songs by Neil Young, The Beach Boys, and The Faces and you're in for a rollicking time listening to the intimate saloon room feel of this southern tinctured music.