“In an age permeated with bleak Alternative offerings, Metal and other dark despondent teen angst derivative bands, John Henry and the Engine stand out from the crowd. With their return to roots rock and roll, John Henry and the Engine is just the band to bring about the rebirth of rock and roll, while still retaining their soul and the blues which made St. Louis famous.With driving, soulful songs like Terrible Beauty and Midnight Eyes, John Henry and the Engine evoke the seventies soul and the bare rock sound of the Rolling Stones and Elvis Costello. At the same time, the upbeat rocker Here We Are In Paradise conjures up eighties toe-tapping rock reminiscent of bands like John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown band (Eddie and the Cruisers soundtrack) and even an eighties version of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. But while this Engine knows how to rock and roll on down the tracks, the throttle can also pull back and take you on a slow, sultry journey. Songs like the mournful ode Charlie Baby will have you swaying and following the haunting guitar as it wails soulfully down the track.â€
-Steve Bleckler St. Louis Sound Magazine September 2006John Henry & The Engine has opened for the following National Acts:
Chuck Berry, The Living End, OK GO, Will Hoge, The Redwalls, Flickerstick, Keller Williams, and Zox.
What some have said about John Henry & The Engine
"With relentless guitars and restless voices, John Henry & the Engine burn through the past, present and maybe even the future of American music. " -Roy Kasten, Riverfront Times
"Like a band of young punks stranded in a basement with only Rolling Stones and Springsteen albums to listen to and a case of Red Bull to drink, Henry and Co. bounce off the walls of classic rock & roll, soul and even some Americana." -KDHX 88.1 FM St. Louis
"with soulful Hammond organ flourishes and glistening piano lines, as on the dramatic, unadorned "The Wind and the Rain." Henry and company bring back a big-hearted bar-band style that, when done right, sounds timeless." -Christian Schaeffer, Riverfront Times, April 2008