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Artiest/Band: Max Hightowe
Blues singer/harmonica ace Max Hightower announces an October 9th release date for his new album, The Blues Chooses You, on the MoMojo Records label.
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Blues singer/harmonica ace Max Hightower announces an October 9th release date for his new album, The Blues Chooses You, on the MoMojo Records label. Max’s latest album features the Chicago blues work of guitarist Joe Moss, was recorded live-to-tape at The Bomb Shelter in Nashville, Tennessee, and produced by Max Hightower. The album’s even-dozen tracks are made up of mostly original songs, along with Max’s unique takes on the Guitar Slim classic, “Things I Used to Do,” and Johnny Shines’ “I Don’t Know.” Max will follow up the release of The Blues Chooses You with a European tour in October.
The Blues Chooses You is the logical follow-up to Max’s critically acclaimed 2025 release, Nothin’ But the TRUTH (also on MoMojo Records), which showcased a boatload of Hightower’s original songs percolated through the sound and feel of Big Jon Atkinson’s vintage-style BigTone Studio in New Orleans. That record followed in the footsteps of Max Hightower’s long-running stint as a member of Mac Arnold’s band.
“There's a reason I called this album The Blues Chooses You,” Max Hightower says. “I believe everybody who loves this music has a story about how the blues found them. I sure wasn't looking for it—I didn't even know what it was.”
A cool twist of fate landed Max Hightower and four musicians who played with him on the new album to an old, funky pink Nashville studio, sweating it out on live-to-analog tape with enough microphone bleed to hold it all together. Featuring Chicago's own Joe Moss on guitar, The Blues Chooses You forges New Orleans juju and Carolina soul with a little Chicago fire into a record that took on a life of its own.
“I wanted to keep the momentum going after the last album and had plenty of songs ready,” Hightower recalls. “The question was where to record them. One thing I knew for sure, I wanted to do it live-to-analog tape. With the studio in New Orleans I used on the last album closed, my search had several false starts before leading me to The Bomb Shelter in Nashville. The name alone lured me in to dig deeper. I called and spoke with Jack Tellmann, and after about five minutes, I knew this was the place.
“So, I had the studio booked, I had the songs completed. Drummer Brandon Phelps and bassist Steadman Fleetwood, Sr. – who both played on my last album - were on board again; I just needed a piano player and lead guitar player. I knew exactly who I wanted. I met Joe Moss 17 years ago at a festival in Florida and stayed in touch ever since. We always said, ‘Man, we gotta’ record something together.’ I gave him a call and before I could finish asking, Joe said, ‘I got you bro’, when you need me there.’ Next, I called Rob Davis down in NOLA. He played piano on the last album and I got the same response: ‘When and where; let’s do it!’
“The Bomb Shelter Studio had a band house about two minutes away that we stayed in. Every morning, Joe Moss would wake-up and cook eggs and bacon. We would talk through the tunes and fuel up for the session. The studio itself was this old funky pink house with asbestos siding and plywood over the windows. Inside was like stepping back in time: old pianos, a pump organ, Wurlitzers, Rhodes, a B3 Hammond, vintage amps, guitars and microphones everywhere. The control room had a console from the ‘70s and a few reel-to-reel tape machines. Engineer Jack Tellmann was open for anything. He pulled up all the thick rugs in the recording room. We didn't use any baffles, no headphones. Jack stuck an amp up on a shelf for a vocal monitor and a second vocal microphone running through my 62 Fender Concert amp. We all played together in one room. The one problem was it was 96 degrees outside and the studio only had one small air conditioning unit that was in a different room. So, when I say a lot of sweat went into this album, I mean that literally. After every song, we would all have to go into the other room to cool off and hydrate.
“The songs were all written and arranged, but once we began running through the tunes everyone’s ideas started flowing. Rob would say, ‘What ya’ think about this for the end?’ Or someone would say, “What if the drums were halftime during the verses?’ Sometimes we would play through a song four or five times making changes or someone might flub up. We would cut it again until we knew that was the take; we were just playing off each other. You'll hear bleed in the microphones, guitar feedback, tempo changes, missed notes - the good stuff. Five guys sweating it out in one room trying to catch lightning in a bottle. This album was recorded onto 2” tape (both ATR and RtM tapes) and MCI JH-16 tape machine and was mixed using a MCI 636 console. Not a computer. No overdubs. No fixing it later. That’s rare in the digital flawless, AI-saturated world we live in now.”
About Max Hightower
By his mid-teens, Max was jamming in smoky barrooms, soaking up lessons on what to do (and definitely what not to do) on rowdy stages. As he honed his chops on harmonica, piano, guitar, and eventually vocals, he learned the harmonica player could be an expendable position if he didn’t also bring some extra flavor to the band. So, he evolved into a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer – creating his own voice in the genre that first captured his imagination. Over the years, Max has shared the stage with some of the very legends who first fueled his musical passion, including Hubert Sumlin, Willie Smith, Bob Margolin, Bob Stroger, Eddie Shaw, Leon Everette, Steve Guyger, Kim Wilson and Bobby Rush.
Though he was a founding member of Mac Arnold and Plate Full O’ Blues, Max’s journey has always been about finding that raw, unfiltered groove – constantly writing, touring, and experimenting. His last album, Nothin’ But the TRUTH, was a testament to that spirit. Fed up with studios insisting on click tracks and overdubs, he hit the road for New Orleans and laid down tracks at BigTone Records, where reel-to-reel machines, vintage RCA ribbon mics and vintage tube amps recaptured the no-frills soul of a live band. Backed by bassist Steadman Fleetwood Williams Sr., drummer Brandon Phelps, and a rotating lineup of New Orleans horns and piano wizards, Max poured everything into the sessions – recording in real-time, “mistakes and all,” the way Muddy Waters and Johnny Winter did back in the day.
And on The Blues Chooses You, Max Hightower ups the ante even more.
- Max Hightower: Vocals, Harmonica, Rhythm Guitar (Tracks 3, 6, 7, 8, 10 & 11)
- Joe Moss: Lead Guitar (1, 2,3,4,5,6,8,10 & Bonus track)
- Rob Davis: Piano, Hammond B3, Wurlitzer
- Steadman Fleetwood’ Williams, Sr.: Bass
- Brandon Phelps: Drums, Talking Voice on "Stone Cool" Hand Claps on "Do What You're Gonna Do"
- Recorded live to analog tape at The Bomb Shelter Studio, Nashville, Tennessee
- Mixed & Mastered by Jake Tillman
All songs written by Max Hightower, © 2026 HightowerTone Publishing ℗ 2026 HightowerTone Publishing; Except: Things I Used to Do — Written by Eddie Jones (Guitar Slim); I Don't Know — Written by Johnny Shines; Moonshine & Magnolias – Written by Max Hightower & Pam McShea; Train Smoke — Lyrics by Max Hightower. Original composition by Max Hightower, Jerry Austin Brashier, and Mac Arnold; Relationship Man — Lyrics by Max Hightower; Original composition by Max Hightower, Jerry Austin Brashier, and Mac Arnold
The Blues Chooses You Album Tracks
1.Dedicated Fool 3:50
2. Train Smoke 4:26
3. The Blues Chooses You 5:01
4. Relationship Man 4:14
5. I Don't Know 6:04
6. Things I Used to Do 5:53
7. Do What You're Going to Do 3:04
8. The Hardest Thing 3:37 (dedicated to Scotty Hawkins, our old drummer who passed away)
9. Stone Cool 4:15
10. Moonshine & Magnolias 4:07
11. Sherlock Holmes 5:16
The Blues Chooses You 6:50 (extended version bonus track)
Website: www.maxhightower.com | Max Hightower Plays Seydel Harmonicas
- MoMojo Records: momojorecords.com
- Booking: Pamela Brooke Agency pamelabrooke4@yahoo.com
- Booking-Europe: Denis Agenet mojowaxbooking@gmail.com
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