Truth & Janey - No Rest For The Wicked (1976/2007 Rockadrome Remastered With Bonus Tracks)
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Artist: Truth & Janey
Album: No Rest For The Wicked (Remastered+Bonus Tracks)
Released: 1976/2007
Vintage/Rockadrome (Rock-006-V-2)
Genre: Heavy Hard Rock
Allmusic Biography: The late-'60s power trio format made famous by Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience sent inspirational shockwaves across the rock & roll universe, and among the most isolated examples of its influence must have been eastern Iowa's extremely obscure cult hard rock band Truth and Janey. Taking their name from the seminal Jeff Beck Group album, vocalist/guitarist Billy Janey, vocalist/bassist Steven Bock, and drummer Denis Bunce (original percussionist John Fillingsworth lasted less than a year) began penning original material, recorded a pair of singles in 1972/1973, and then evolved into Truth and Janey when informed that another band already held rights to the Truth moniker before them. Arduous roadwork in the neighboring states kept the band busy in years to come, but the absence of a major record deal eventually drove them to finance their own album -- a fierce and bluesy hard rocker to be entitled No Rest for the Wicked -- at a studio in nearby Ames, IA. This they released through a local independent label, and its 1,000-unit pressing quickly sold out among their dedicated fans in the region -- but that was it. With no apparent career-advancing prospects in their near future, Truth and Janey disbanded the following year, with main man Janey turning to blues and adding a "Lee" to his name before recording several albums throughout the '80s and '90s. Truth and Janey's modest legacy was kept alive by their few cult followers and eventually led to an official CD pressing of No Rest for the Wicked by Monster Records (which added all four of their single A- and B-sides, to boot), and a legendary live performance released in 2004 as Erupts! - By Eduardo Rivadavia.
Amazon: The musical group Truth was formed sometime in late 69 in a small city in Iowa by original members Billy Janey, Steve Bock and John Fillingsworth. The band pulled it's name from the title of a Jeff Beck album and drew inspiration from Beck as well as idols Cream and Hendrix. This lineup, however, would last barely a year until drummer Denis Bunce was brought in the replace Fillingsworth and form what would be the group's legendary line-up. By 1972 the group was regularly performing and writing original material. It was in this time that they would release their debut, a 7" 45rpm featuring "Midnight Horseman" and a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Under my Thumb." Although, Guitarist Billy Janey claims that 1,000 copies of this single were pressed, to a collector nowadays it feels a lot more like 100 copies because it's extremely hard to turn up. During 1973 the band issued their 2nd 7" single on their own Driving Wheel label and shortly thereafter changed their name to the more familiar Truth and Janey. The songs "Straight Eight Pontiac" and "Around and Around" were featured on the group's second 45rpm. It was also around this time they became aware of another band signed to a major label subsidiary that was using the name Truth. In order to avoid any confusion or possible legal hassles they opted to change the name to "Truth and Janey." The band did a fair amount of touring during the 73-'75 period including some dates on a Leslie West tour, shows in Canada, Kansas, Illinois, Nashville and other mid-western sites as well as a huge music festival with Blue Oyster Cult in Davenport, Iowa that drew some 20,000 hard rock fans. All the while, they were writing original material and gearing up for the release of their first full length album.
In 1976, in A and R studios in Ames, Iowa, they laid down the tracks that would form the now infamous "No Rest for the Wicked" album released later that same year. The record featured six original tunes and two traditional blues covers revved up in true powerhouse Truth and Janey fashion. Only 1,000 copies of the album were pressed on the local Montross records. Since it's release, it has grown steadily over the years in popularity among collectors of 60's and 70's hard rock and psychedelia with original copies now fetching a large sum in the collector's market. It has often been lauded as perhaps the best and most promising independent U.S. heavy rock release of the entire 70's decade. One thing's for sure, you won't hear many arguments to the contrary. Unfortunately, disco reared it's ugly head around 1976 and severely damaged the lives of many small hard rock bands around the country, including Truth and Janey. Just as the ball started rolling it all ended as Denis Bunce left the group and quickly thereafter they completely disbanded. In a last ditch effort, guitarist Billy Janey reformed the group with all new members in 1977 and released the "Just a Little Bit of Magic" album, but it was a move in a completely different direction and has little to do with the ferocious hard rock guitar Marshall 100-watt Superlead sound that dominated "No Rest for the Wicked." By 1978 this lineup had disbanded as well and Truth and Janey was officially over. Bassist Steve Bock left for California to join commercial rockers Nowhere Fast, drummer Denis Bunce left music altogether, and guitarist Billy Janey remained in Iowa to start a solo career. Janey went on to release several blues guitar oriented compact discs under the name BillyLee Janey throughout the 80's and 90's and is still recording and releasing material today. During the early 90's Truth and Janey's popularity among collectors made it's way to the band and it was decided that something should be done to help appease the ever growing demand for the band's long sold-out debut Lp. It was at this time they decided to do a new limited vinyl pressing of the original "No Rest for the Wicked" album, but this time in blank white die.
Album Reviews:
#1: Truth and Janey - No Rest for the Wicked CD reissue is great 1976 hard rock from the midwest! A real heavy rock classic filled with inventive songwriting, intelligent lyrics and above all, top-notch guitar playing from BillyLee Janey!! The mega-rare original vinyl press is an all-time favorite among collectors and fetches over $300 nowadays. This is the official reissue containing four studio bonus tracks and 16-page full color booklet with history of the group, lyrics and rare band photos!! - Rockadrome.
#2: Not to be dismissed because of its underground status, Truth and Janey's only LP, No Rest for the Wicked, was another incredible find for indie record label Monster Records, which has always specialized in digging up long-forgotten American hard rock nuggets from the '70s, but really struck gold this time around. Boasting a swaggering, bluesy grit, piercing twin-harmony licks, and the most righteously ferocious rhythm guitar tone this side of Ted Nugent, opener "Down the Road I Go" instantly establishes the band's '70s hard rock aesthetic whose roots, not surprisingly, lie in English giants like Cream, Jeff Beck, and even more so in Rory Gallagher's Taste, on this particular track. The powerful influence of these '60s guitar heroes can also be heard in Truth and Janey's revved-up blues covers (Willie Dixon's "I'm Ready" and Mississippi John Hurt's "Ain't No Tellin'") and groove-driven originals ("The Light"), while a slightly more distinctive voice emerges in truly memorable, half-electric/half-acoustic creations like "It's All Above Us" and the title track (showcasing frantic sprints between six-stringer Billy Janey and powerhouse drummer Denis Bunce). And this being the '70s, there was bound to be a progressive-sized epic on hand, and it's pleasant to discover that No Rest for the Wicked's entry -- a nine-minute opus called "Remember" -- is no throwaway. Quite the opposite, as it offers at least four or five contrasting passages that range from delicate melodies accompanied by equally timid falsettos, to dexterously improvised jazz-rock breaks, to orchestrated battalions of ascending hard rock power chords, climaxing intermittently in sterling guitar histrionics. (Followers of overlooked Welsh trio Budgie and Canadian legends Rush alike take heed of this, and also the familiar, Alex Lifeson/Rush "By-Tor and the Snow Dog" effects on "My Mind.") Bassist Steven Bock, the last bandmember not yet named, was no slouch himself, not only producing all of these tracks, but sharing duo and solo lead vocals with Janey to give most of these tracks yet another Cream-descended flavor. Sure, Truth and Janey depend pretty heavily on dual guitar harmonies for a one-guitar power trio, but that's just wasteful nit-picking for a band so long departed, and whose overlooked gem of an album still sounds so amazingly vital and engaging today. [No Rest for the Wicked's long-awaited CD issue covered all bases by adding all four tracks Truth and Janey released as singles in the early '70s; including significantly less focused blues rockers of their own design, and a rather unique, boogie charged rendition of the Rolling Stones' "Under My Thumb."] - By Eduardo Rivadavia, AMG.
#3: Powerhouse hard rock from the midwest! An innovative, creative, superbly crafted work of heavy rock filled with inventive songwriting, intelligent lyrics and above all, monstrous, top-notch guitar playing!! The mega-rare original vinyl press from 1976 is an all-time favorite among collectors and fetches over $200 nowadays. This is the official licensed reissue containing four studio bonus tracks, history of the group, lyrics and rare band photos!! This thing rules the earth!!!!! - Amazon Product Description.
#4: owa, 1976, and a local hard rock band slugging it out in bars throughout the rust belt with nothing to show for their efforts dig into their pockets to pony up the cash for their one and only full-length, No Rest For The Wicked. Cut to the 21st century and copies of the 1,000 LP's pressed fetch mega-bucks, while the name Truth And Janey is held in high esteem among hard-rockologists. Tracks like "Down the Road I Go," "The Light," and the epic "Remember" are chilled to the core by an "us against the world" sense of desperation and melancholy, the power trio laying down some truly top-notch, granite-riffed jams over which Billy Lee Janey broods defiantly, while occasionally detouring as on the southern-rock flavored "Ain't No Tellin'" and heavy blues of "I'm Ready." Monster's CD reissue adds both sides of the band's singles (also self-released) from '72 and '73, highlighted by "Midnight Horsemen." - By Bpnicast, Rate Your Music.
Truth And Janey - No Rest For The Wicked (Rare US Heavyrock 1976)
Originally formed under the name TRUTH in 1969 in Iowa, USA, with drummer John Fillingsworth who didn't stayed to long in the line-up. This powertrio was named after a record of Jeff Beck. In 1972 they've released their first single and in 1973 the next one, both in a limited edition of 1000 copies and both were selling very good. But than something happened, what nobody of the band expected. Another band named TRUTH have released a LP on a major label and so the band was forced to change their name into TRUTH AND JANEY. Between '73 - '75 they band played thousands of gigs, together with Leslie West and they've played together with Blue Öyster Cult in Davenport, Iowa at a festival in front of 20000 Hardrock fans. Finally in 1976, the debut album was released on Montrose Records in a limited edition of 1000 copies. Due to this reason, the original is very expensive ($400), but you can get the re-release on Monster Records with four bonus tracks (both singles). The album shows, why TRUTH AND JANEY were one of the hardest US powertrios at their time. The album starts with the ultra-heavy "Down the road I go" and closes with the ultra-heavy "My Mind". They've turned the Stones classic "Under my thumb" 1972 into a heavy rock number, which was the flipside of the first single. There are also two other cover versions on this album, "I'm ready" from Willie Dixon and "Ain't no Tellin" from John Hurt, where TRUTH AND JANEY are showing us their love for the Bluesrock, like almost every trio in the 70's but they were more heavier.Aside of this album, you can also get the live vinyl bootleg "All Sold Out Now!", and I wish I had seen them live. A total heavy sonic assault!
1. 4:00 Down The Road I Go
2. 5:44 The Light
3. 3:31 Iīm Ready
4. 9:04 Remember
5. 4:48 No Rest For The Wicked
6. 4:24 Itīs All Above Us
7. 3:38 Ainīt No Tellinī
8. 5:58 My Mind
9. 3:08 Midnight Horsemen
10. 2:20 Around And Around
11. 3:43 Under My Thumb
12. 2:17 Straight Eight Pontiac
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