Track Listing

1. Honeydripper
2. Bloodsucker Blues
3. T Bag Scuffle
4. Blue Guitar
5. It takes a lot to laugh, it takes a train to cry
6. Lost Content
7. The way you look tonight
8. I'm In The Mood For Love
9. June Rose Lane (Piano)
10. Loutette
11. Watch It Baby
12. Don't Need No Job
13. Hop The Wag
14. Blues Is A Feeling
15. June Rose Lane
16. Panic Attack
17. Remember Me

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39454 in Music
• Released on: 2000-11-13
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
Jools is best known as the genial presenter of the multi-stage, multi-genre Later With Jools show on BBC2, but here he expands on the musical cameos he makes there to stand centre stage as pianist, singer, bandleader and composer. The music closest to his heart is big band shuffle, jump and boogie, and there are plenty of roaring horn sections here, numerous bluesy vocals from Jools and top notch jazz solos from Guy Barker, Bruce Adams and others. At the same time, reflecting the eclecticism of his show, he also dips into reggae with skanking versions of "The Way You Look Tonight" (vocal by Sam Brown) and "I'm In The Mood For Love" (where Jamiroquai flexes his jazz muscle with authority). Jazz history is underlined rather than reinvented here, but the set is ideal for anyone who can't wait until Christmas for a taste of the party atmosphere which suffuses Jools's famed Hootenanny TV specials. --Mark Gilbert

Customer Reviews

Musical Antidepressant for the dark winter-days
Play truant and immediately start to listen to 'Hop the Wag', the latest cd by piano-wizard Jools Holland and his illustrious Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, it will be well worth your trouble. Starting off with the sizzling full blazed 'Honeydripper' going all the way up and down the musical scale to solo purity with 'Remember Me'.

Jools can be considered an eclectic stylist, although his favor for good old boogie woogie and blues in the deepest shade of blue never fails to emerge. Covers and originals are equally treated with enthusiasm and sheer love for the joy of music . 'Bloodsucker Blues' and 'T Bag Scuffle' are 'live' real crowd pleasers - and it's hard to top these guys 'in concert' - but they've managed to uphold a lot of the vibrating quality in the studio. If one should think that it wasn't possible anymore to use the cliché classics 'The way you look tonight' and 'I'm in the mood for love' just listen to Jools' ska versions, with the sultry vocals of Jay Kay aka Jamiroquai on the latter. 'June Rose Lane' is a charming waltzing tribute to his mother, but leave it to Mr. Holland to surprise with an odd song like 'Loutette', recited by a certain Mr. Norman Wassberg, who just happens to be a customer of Jools' local pub, but it boogies never the less. Or the rather strange yet delicate sounding 'Lost Content', with lyrics from a poem by Victorian poet A.E. Housman.

'Blue Guitar', which first appeared on 'The Full Complement' cd as a sulky, intimate song, has matured into a more gutsy, shorter version in 2000, which just proves that 'recycling' of your own work does pay off sometimes. The title track is a nice shuffling tune with Jools and saxophonist Phil Veacock, whom is also responsible for a lot of the arrangements, which add to the rich, yet airy and vivacious sound of this production. Other members of his high-quality band which should not remain unmentioned are the likes of legendary Rico Rodriguez on trombone, Mark Flanagan on guitar and Gilson Lavis, his loyal drummer since the Squeeze days.

This'll get your Boogie muscle twitching
In my opinion this is the best Holland album. From the Big Band bash of Honeydripper - including an earstomping drum solo from Gilson Lavis - to the simple beauty of Remember Me with some inspired playing by Jools, this is a great album. The uplifting Bloodsucker Blues is excellent, while T Bag Skuffle will get your foot tapping while listening to phenomenal solos from Holland himself and the rest of the band. I'm sure this is one album you'll find hard to take out of your CD player.

Brilliant
In my opinion this is the best Holland album. From the Big Band bash of Honeydripper - including an earstomping drum solo from Gilson Lavis - to the simple beauty of Remember Me with some inspired playing by Jools, this is a great album. The uplifting Bloodsucker Blues is excellent, while T Bag Skuffle will get your foot tapping while listening to phenomenal solos from Holland himself and the rest of the band. I'm sure this is one album you'll find hard to take out of your CD player.