Personnel: Ronnie Earl (guitar); Jimmy McGriff (Hammoond B-3 organ); Anthony Geraci (keyboards); Michael "Mudcat" Ward (bass); Don Williams (drums).
Recorded at Blue Jay Studios, Carlisle, Massachusetts between July 23 & August 2, 1999. Includes liner notes by Frank John-Hadley.
Not unlike such disparate artists as John Coltrane, John Lennon, or Al Green, Ronnie Earl preaches music's underlying power to cure an ailing soul, and mend a broken heart. On HEALING TIME Earl sets out to encourage us to, as he says, "feel the music, not just be awed by the technique," and the 11 songs included here lead listeners in this direction.
"Churchin'," is an electrifying blues shuffle, while the tunes that follow take us on a musical journey through slow 12/8 blues ("Blues for Shawn") to a cheerful quasi-Latin feel ("Thembi"). Earl's lyrical, always bluesy, improvisations are strongly featured throughout. Organ legend Jimmy McGriff is also heard in superb form on many of the selections including "Blues on a Sunday" and "Catfish Blues." The album closes with a stately version of the traditional song, "Amazing Grace." On this African-American spiritual, Ronnie Earl leaves us with a sense of hope and optimism. HEALING TIME is an emotionally charged album that delivers a unique and potent balm for the soul.
