Big Jack Johnson & The Oilers: Big Jack Johnson (vocals, guitar); Rodger Montgomery (guitar, background vocals); Maury "Hooter" Saslaff (bass) Chet Woodward (drums).Includes liner notes by Larry Hoffman.A Mississippi-born pre-baby boomer, Johnson is part of the hardcore blues community that includes the Fat Possum crowd (R.L. Burnside, T Model Ford, etc.), but his is a slightly more modern, less quirky variant on that uncompromising style of electric blues. Johnson takes a forceful, no-prisoners approach on WE GOT TO STOP THIS KILLIN', and bashing out the songs like there's no tomorrow. The Oilers keep a simple, steady backbeat; emphasizing 12-bar shuffles, while Johnson's gritty, distorted lead guitar and deep, throaty, larger-than-life voice take center stage.The title tune tackles contemporary social issues, an approach that crops up frequently in Johnson's repertoire. The instrumental "Breakdown Blues" hints at Johnson's interest in country music--it's a roughhousing blues version of a country breakdown, with the riff from "Proud Mary" inserted for absurdist humor. Johnson takes the solo voice-and-guitar route on "Lonesome Road," and he's just as aggressively unforgettable even without the yeomanly support of the Oilers. "Cracklin' Bread" offers a touch of funk, but it's the shuffle that's Johnson's bread and butter, a fact borne out by the majority of the cuts here.