John Brennan Album "Down Home" Review

Artist: John Brennan

Album: Down Home

Released: 2026

Artist Website: https://www.johnbrennansounds.com/

John Brennan is a South Jersey based man of the real blues. His music is a throwback in time in every way. I would guess he considers Albert Collins to be a modernist. For that matter anything past 1965 or so. This is an artist that in many ways serves as a conservationist of classic Chicago blues and Memphis rock and roll.  He seems to be a  guitar player that stopped studying new players several years before Hendrix blew the whole thing wide open. 

The first single, Home of The Blues, is a four on the floor vintage rock and roll cut in the vein of Chuck Berry. If the early rock and roll artists taught us anything, you can get the point across in under three minutes. There is no room for self indulgence, get in and get out leaving the audience wanting more. A recipe that Jimmie Vaughan has embraced for years yielding great success. This is a song that would have sat right at home on an early Fabulous Thunderbirds record for sure. Brennan does it more than justice!

Somebody's Crying is another upbeat bouncy slightly rock and roll influenced blues cooker. The guitar tone simply could not have been dialed in any better than it is on this one. A cool riffy performance reminds this writer of the deep cuts on early Thorogood records. The songs that didn't see radio airplay like the hits, but made the blues fans listening understand that Lonesome George had some deep roots in the real stuff. As does John Brennan! 

As I listen to this record I find myself most drawn to the tracks with the early rock and roll flavor. Mystery Train is a stellar example of it. It is undoubtedly a blues cut, but has that train beat driving it from start to finish with a guitar solo that feels Carl Perkins influenced. It has a bit of country in it, not so much that it feels like it came from Nashville, but right out of Memphis 1959. The music coming from Memphis in that time period managed to keep more to the blues but had hints of country, truly blending it to what became the mold for early rock and roll. This is the space that John Brennan shines in. 

This ten song set of classic sounding blues that flirts with 50's Rock and Roll is a well put together reverb drenched album. It feels raw and dirty at every turn. If the modern guitar slinger approach is where your heart lies, this isn't a record for you. However if you like Elmore James, Jimmie Vaughan and John Lee Hooker this record would be a fine addition to your collection. Brennan is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to the vintage approach in both performance and recording. There is absolutely nothing modern here, which is meant as the highest compliment. I highly recommend it to fans of early rock and roll and the first wave of electric blues artists.