1. The Train
  2. 20% Alcohol
  3. Mojo Lounge
  4. The Switch
  5. Telephone Driver (Hang Up And Drive)
  6. The Pull
  7. Bluebird Blues
  8. Please Help
  9. Hippie's Playground
  10. The Waddle
  11. R.J. Come And Get It
  12. I Came To Play
  13. Jokerhead
  14. Uh Huh

R.J. MISCHO – vocals/harmonica,
FRANK GOLDWASSER – gtr, all tracks
CHRISKIDANDERSEN – gtr, all tracks (except #10 where he plays bass)
MARC CARINO – electric bass
SID MORRIS – upright piano
JUNE CORE – drums
BARRY SHULMAN – sax on #1, 6, 10 &11; flute on #13

A CCR Productions Recording

With 'He Came To Play' R.J. presents a hauntingly beautiful bit of Blues.

His modern grasp on a subject that has inspired friends of the Blues for roughly fifty years sounds like an invasion from another planet: wild with almost feral energy, rich in variety.
He is an innovative harp player who posses the first-rate talent required to write exciting songs with relevant lyrics.
With its primitive electric blues, humor, grime and awesome passion R.J. Mischo delivers an album that ranks among the best that were recorded in the last few years.

His instrumental “The Switch” would fit well in the soundtrack of a Sci-Fi Classic with its innovative mixture of blues and a Psychedelic element reminiscent of the Jefferson Airplane.

The members of R.J. Mischo's band are:
FRANK GOLDWASSER – The Paris-born guitarist has been living in California more than a quarter century and is said to be one of the best interpreters of an aggressive and rhythmically propulsive playing style. He has his own CrossCut release with 'Bluju'(ccd 11077).
CHRISTHE KIDANDERSEN – a Mischo discovery. The young blood guitarist is said to be one of the greatest talents of the west coast Blues scene and the perfect complement to Frank G.
JUNE CORE – the drummer played many years in one of the best known California bands: Little Charlie & The Nightcats.
MARCUS CARINO – played bass formerly with the Fabulous Thunderbirds, among others, and is recognized as one of the best instrumentalists in the scene.
SID MORRIS – worked beforehand in Blues legend John Lee Hooker's band and in the Charlie Musselwhite Blues Band.
BARRY SHULMAN – guest artist. Played, among others, with Indigo Swing and can 'honk' or wail at will.

Reviews CCD 11087

Bestnote für den Harper aus Wisconsin. (…) Der fette Harpsound lässt nichts zu wünschen übrig, die beiden Gitarren strotzen vor Spielfreude, die Rhythmusgruppe groovt. So kann ein modernes Bluesalbum mit traditionellen wurzeln tönen.

Jazz'n'More
July/August 2006
Marco Piazzalonga

Amazing! Raw! Exciting! Blues jumped on earth from outer space.

ilpopolodelblues.com
May 2006
Ernesto de Pascale

This stuff hits you straight between the eyes and could easily have been recorded in the Chess studio’s in the 50’s. A couple of numbers from that old houserocker J.B.Hutto ‘20% Alcohol’ and ‘Please Help’ are given a good seeing to and you can smell the fish frying, the bourbon and the sweat. Fantastic stuff! ‘The Switch’ is one of three instrumental tracks which races along with spacey harp and guitar and a touch of psychedelia. What planet is this man on? (…) This is a wonderful album mixing Chicago style harp with humour and primitive electric blues and passion. It certainly sounds as though they all had a great time in the studio making this excellent album and that feeling comes across to the listener. Loved it to bits.

Blues Matters!
September 2005
Dave Drury

Mischo, an acknowledged master of the 50s/60s blues universe, is joined in his quest by a stellar group of musicians – Frank Goldwaser, Kid Anderson, Marcus Carino, Sid Morris, June Core and Barry Shulman – all musicians who have traversed time and space to bring the blues of that era, in it’s pure, unadulterated form to the 21st Century.(…)
Take a space-hop to your nearest record store and indulge yourself in a set that I can only describe as “supergalactic”. Rating 10

Blues In Britain
Spring 2006
Mick Rainsford

R.J.Mischo kommt mit seiner Band aus den Tiefen des Alls – er will nur spielen. Und das tut er sensationell gekonnt, schmutzig, wild gefährlich. (…) Der Wahnsinn grinst dabei ständig um die Ecke (…). Die Herren hatten nicht nur bei dieser Nummer offensichtlich riesigen Spaß, man hört die Hingabe und Spielfreude in jedem Ton. “He Came To Play” ist definitiv Mischos stärkstes Album und wird bei Fans des authentischen Blues nicht mehr aus dem CD-Player verschwinden. Top Empfehlung.

Blues News
July-September 2006
Thomas Ritter