PROMISING YOUNG TALENT STILL EXISTS ON THE Chicago blues circuit-at least if you know where to find it.If identifying the Windy City's next generation of blues standouts sounds like an intriguing quest, there's no need to look any further than the Joe Moss Band.The albums title track 'Monster Love," vividly indicates Joe's musical leanings-cool horns, percolating organ, and a funk-stained groove frame Joe's attractive vocal and stinging guitar work."Need Your Love," "Mad Mad Mad," and "Lost My World" strike thoroughly infectious tempos, their slinky, dance-friendly bass lines recalling the years of onstage experience Moss acquired as one of Buddy Scott's Rib Tips inside fabled South Side joints such as Lee's Unleaded Blues and The Checkerboard Lounge.But when he's in the mood,Joe can grab hold of more traditional fare and wring it for all it's worth."Love My Baby" swings with horn -fueled impunity."So Scared" is a straight-out-of-the Delta stomper, and "Train Tracks" closes the set by proving conclusively that Joe doesn't need a band at all to get his point across.Chicago blues aficianados will want to keep a aclose eye on Joe Moss . The idiom needs all the help it can get as we hurtle into this new millennium with precious few legitamate young blues heroes to anticapate, and he's in a position to make a real contribution.----Bill Dahl

JOE MOSS, "MONSTER LOVE" (212) "His tendency to shape shift on these thirteen tracks isn't just meaningless excersise :Moss' Impeccable playing is incredibly SOULFULL,and his ebullience shines right through the speakers, delivering an Insane ass-shakin' rave up."-------Andria Lisle, LIVING BLUES #172 March-June 2004

Four stars---Christophe Mourot, SOULBAG #174 March 2004 French Press

Hardworking Chicago bandleader Joe Moss has come up with a monster Memphis groove, powered by three fine keyboardists, for his sophomore disc on West Dundee's 212 Records. The guitarist-vocalist, a graduate of Scotty & the Rib Tips and the brother of Chicago bluesman Nick Moss, makes a bold statement with these 11 originals and two covers (B.B. King's "Please Love Me" and Billy Myles' "Have You Ever Loved a Woman"). ......., Moss has developed a funky soul-blues sound that's perfectly suited both to his voice and his supporting personnel. "Monster Love" is the work of a skilled craftsman who already knows how to make a fine album, and likely has many more in his future. ***1/2 STARS Jeff Johnson,Chicago Sun Times

USA - JOE MOSS "Monster Love" 212 Records, 13 tracks, 1:00:45 hrs. This is the second release from the Chicago guitarist/singer and his band. A regular at Chicago's House of Blues and Buddy Guy's Legends, Moss is a monster showman hardly ever off a stage. Having secured his break with Buddy Scott he went on to be a sideman to many Chicago's big names, where he got to tour Europe on several occasions. Joe along with his younger brother Nick (Nick Moss & the Flip Tops), are the current young Turks on Chi-town's blues circuit who base their sound on a rich 50's Blues sound. Joe has a love for the "We Three Kings" B.B, Albert, & Freddie, with the albums two covers coming from Freddie & B.B. King, "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" & "Please Love Me". Joe has come up with a great bunch of tunes reminiscent of Johnny "Guitar" Watson, SRV, B.B./Albert & Freddie King,Roy Buchanan and a few West Coast guitarists. If you are jaded by single toned guitar players then no need for an ear syringing, "Monster Love" is at hand. Amongst Joe's soul side there is a smattering of funk also there's some honky-tonk country figures. The only complaint I have is the slightly compressed production sound, though clean enough it doesn't bristle in the same way as a top studio job. Willie "Big Eyes" Smith's son, Kenny Smith plays drums on seven tracks with no less than three keyboard players, and Dez Desormeaux providing all the horns. The band is tight with a big stage kind of sound. Those who have heard Joe's debut album know Joe wrote a song for his wife "Oh Sandra", well it's updated herein adding "03" to the titling, and it's a big rockabilly cum western swing tune. At the time of writing there are no mp3's for the new disc,but as there are samples for his previous on the bands website, then there probably will be by the time you read this -checkout www.joemossband.com. Chicago is still producing Blues talent which is evident from the Moss Bros. - Blues tailoring that's a cut above the rest! .................. Billy Hutchinson,Team Writer "Blues Matters magazine"UK


 Joe Moss comes from some fine blues stock. His brother is Nick Moss, leader of Chicago blues band The Flip-Tops. Joe is quite a talented singer, writer, and guitarist in his own right, and the release of "Monster Love" oughta bring him national acclaim!! Joe spent his formative years with Buddy Scott's blues band, Scotty and the Rib Tips. (See Alligator Records' "Living Chicago Blues Vol.3" for an introduction to this fine group) After Buddy's passing in 1994, Joe gigged around Chicago until setting out on his own in 1997. Joe's sound is a bit more "groove-oriented" than traditional "Chicago-style" combos, aimed to make people get up and dance! Check out the horn and organ-driven grooves of the title track and "Mad Mad Mad" for some get-on-the-floor boogie music, as well as the neat shuffle that serves as Joe's ode to his wife, "Oh Sandra '03." Joe is in tune with his roots, too. Check out "So Scared" and "Train Tracks," which sound like they came right off Highway 61. Our two favorites are an excellent slow-burnin' "Have You Ever Loved A Woman," and the rollicking, highly-danceable "Please Love Me," with some cool barrelhouse piano from Bill LeClaire backing Joe's stinging, jumping lead and dead-on vocals! If you need proof that good young talent still exists to carry on the torch of the blues, then "don't go no further" than Joe Moss and "Monster Love." Check 'em out and---ENJOY!! Until next time...Don and Sheryl Crow.

 Subject: Joe Moss Dear Todd: You send me tons of WONDERFUL "stuff", but you out- did yourself with this one....I humbly nominate "Monster Love" for "Album Of The Year"....Where has this lad been hiding - the blues world needs more of him - well maybe not, he just blow them away! THANK YOU! ;o) :o) ;o) Deb Lee WOCM 410-723-3683


Subject: Robb Morrison and THE BLUS BRUNCH on 96.3 KRZZ Wichita, Kansas AND 95.7 WQMF Louisville, Kentucky Robb Morrison from The Blues Brunch here! Just got the cd "Monster Love" from Todd Glazer Smokin! Nothing else to say! How 'bout that for a f***ing quote!?

Year of the blues ends, and the thrill is gone? December 28, 2003 BY JEFF JOHNSON Staff Reporter,CHICAGO SUN-TIMES We're now 361 days into the Year of the Blues, and some might ask what the fuss was all about. Well, the congressional proclamation and related hullabaloo last winter were really efforts to promote "Martin Scorsese's 'The Blues,'" the seven-part series that aired a couple of months ago on PBS, which had more than its share of great moments. Even its detractors usually qualified their criticism with, "Yeah, but that scene with [fill in the blank] was worth watching the entire series by itself." But after the thrill is over, is the music any better for it? Blues recordings are barely registering a blip on the SoundScan radar, with only a couple of discs selling more than 30,000 copies all year. Small indie labels are falling by the wayside, and with things tough all over in the music industry, the majors aren't exactly lining up to fill the void. Here, in alphabetical order, are 10 blues albums from 2003 that prove that the music is still alive and well: Joe Moss, "Monster Love" (212): Let's give a nod to a local guy here, a graduate of Scotty & the Rib Tips, no less. Moss creates a monster Memphis groove for his funky soul-blues sound that's perfectly suited both to his voice and his supporting personnel. And brother Nick Moss & the Flip Tops weren't far behind with their Blue Bella release "Count Your Blessings."


HIghly recommended - solid original blues author: Big Hurt in Milwaukee Highly recommended. Joe Moss launches from a solid grounding in the blues and old-school R&B traditions to create a fine set of mostly original material that adds compelling twists to the old forms without sounding contrived. Moss's guitar and vocals are both strong, and the supporting cast is top notch. I like every song.

This one is going to make you dance!!! author: Mahone Make sure you have your dancing shoes on, cuz you won't be able to stay in your seat. So, So good! Joe Moss is a true blues artist

author: Ed in Cincinnati I've been a fan of Joe Moss since I saw him play live in Chicago a few years ago. At that time I bought his first CD and liked it so much I had to get this one too. Monster Love Is a geat piece of work from Joe and his band. I recomend it to any one who likes blues. Joe Moss' Monster Love is a Monster Hit


Few up and coming young blues performers walk the walk to the degree of Chicago-based guitarist/bandleader JOE MOSS. One of the hardest-working performers on the Windy City circuit, Moss routinely works up to 28 gigs a month. His sound, a winning mix of blues and R&B flavors paired with original songwriting vision, can be heard blasting out of Chicago venues like Buddy Guy's Legends and House of Blues on a regular basis. His stinging guitar and accomplished vocal style have won him fans citywide. His debut CD "The Joe Moss Band" (212 Records) gives ample proof to the rest of the world of what Midwest blues fans have known for some time: Joe Moss is for real. A guitarist since the age of 15, Moss was given his passport into the blues world by Buddy Scott, who noticed Moss at a jam session at Rosa's Blues Lounge on Chicago's west side. Soon, Moss was playing seven nights a week as a member of Buddy's Rib Tip band. In 1992, Joe toured Spain with Buddy and also recorded "Bad Ave." with him as well. The record was released on Polygram's Verve Gitane Blues label. Moss' guitar skills quickly became notorious on the local scene and made him an in-demand sideman. He played countless gigs with nearly every bluesman and -woman in the city. Some of his past employers include Zora Young, Charles Wilson, Lil' Smokey Smothers, Syl Johnson, Big Time Sarah, Barkin' Bill Smith, Lefty Dizz, Magic Slim, A.C. Reed, Billy Branch, and Little Mack Simmons. Not merely a local hotshot, Joe has backed these artists in places like Canada, Turkey, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, France, and Germany as well as in Chicago. Not content to remain on the side, Joe felt the pull to be his own man and lead his own band. This desire led to the birth of both The Joe Moss Band and the CD of the same name. Moss is finally able to do things his way and express the music he has been writing. Original tunes like "Coldhearted," "Good Lovin' Groove," and "Jealous" are sure to win over fans of blues, blues/rock, and R&B. Not one to be media-shy, either, Joe has been featured in Gig Magazine, Vintage Guitar, Living Blues, the Chicago Tribune, the Kenosha News, and In The Mix Magazine. He has also received airplay on WLUP 97.9 FM, WXRT 93.1 FM, and WCBR 92.7 FM. JOE MOSS is one representative of the future of the blues. Not just an imitator of the music's glorious past, he strives to find his own sound and material within the styles he chooses to play. His band features some of Chicago's finest blues musicians and Joe himself is a consistent and entertaining performer. Blues fans would be wise to check out JOE MOSS and his band as soon as they can. Any worries about this music surviving in the new millennium will surely be put to rest. Contact: 847-809-5985 www.joemossband.com


JOE MOSS MARICELA'S SMILE LINER NOTES I have been writing about Joe Moss and his music for just about 10 years now. I know him well enough to know what some people are going to say about his new record, Maricela's Smile, that you are holding in your hands at this very moment. People will say that it is very different from Joe's past music and that it isn't a blues record. Those of us who know Joe, however, know that the soul, jazz, and R&B-influenced sound heard on the new record is where Joe has been heading all along. I can remember sitting with Joe in 1997 or 1998, interviewing him for the first time for the first local birdcage liner magazine I ever published in, and listening to him describe this sound that he heard in his head, even as he was releasing his self-titled debut CD, which contained the most straight blues he has ever put on record. The title track of Joe's second effort, Monster Love, foreshadowed this style, and gave fans a taste of what he was thinking and what he was trying to do as an artist. Maricela's Smile is Joe hitting the target he has aimed for at long last and truly coming into his own as a songwriter and bandleader.

It IS a blues record, by the way. Joe Moss is first and foremost a blues guitarist and he can play straight-up blues as well as anyone else out there. But, like Joe, the new record is so much more than just blues. It is also the realized dream of a kid who loved Stevie Wonder and an adult who listens to D'Angelo and Tyrone Davis.

It's blues with an element of sophistication in the writing and arranging, the product of a musical mind not content to play with purely primary colors, a mind that is not afraid to bring in any influence, be it funk, rock, or whatever, if it suits the music at hand, a mind not willing to close off creativity over stylistic concerns. There are enough curators in the blues world to guarantee that the old ways survive and are available for anyone who wants to know where this music came from. What many fans forget, however, is that those classic performers like Muddy Waters that we all love were very modern in their day. To be standing on a stage in the 1950's with a Fender guitar and amplifier, or any electric guitar for that matter, was to be riding the cutting edge. Those players were trying to forge their own sound, a new sound. Moss is doing the same thing, in his way and in his day. All the pure American styles like blues, jazz, country, etc have been developed as far as they are able to go. No one is ever going to top Willie Dixon, Charlie Parker, or Hank Williams. Music, like all art forms, needs new influences to be brought into it for it to continue to grow and not become stale. Maricela's Smile is Joe doing this in a very personal way, letting everything he has ever heard touch this record in one way or another. This is no idle experiment, though. This is the music business and Joe and all of us involved with this record hope it finds an audience, Joe's biggest audience yet. When you are a husband and father as well as a bandleader, everything carries weight and impacts not only you and your band, but also your family and home life. Early indicators are good and Joe tells of playing this music live to blues audiences with very positive responses. I am writing this pre- release and there is, of course, no crystal ball on my desk, but I don't think Joe needs to worry about this one. This record will appeal not only to fans of modern blues, but also to anyone who likes funky, soulful grooves, great playing, and heartfelt songwriting, all done with real musical identity. They say confidence is a hallmark of greatness and I know Joe would not have put this music out if he didn't have absolute faith in it and feel it was his best work to date. Time will tell, as it always does, but I think Maricela's Smile will open new worlds for Joe and his music, worlds where labels don't really matter. Is it blues? Of course it is, but who cares? These are Joe's blues, and if you like them, they are your blues, too, so play them as you please. Mike O'Cull Illinois Entertainer December 2007