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Like only the most enduring of artists, A.J. Croce embodies a joyful love of music that's fully matched by his phenomenal talent. A piano virtuoso who started playing as a small child and toured with B.B. King at just 18-years-old, the Nashville-based singer/songwriter has since collaborated and performed with legends and luminaries across a wide expanse of genres (Willie Nelson, Leon Russell, Ry Cooder, Allen Toussaint, to name a few), all while building up an acclaimed catalog that blurs the boundaries between blues, soul, rock & roll, Americana, and much more. When it came time to create his new album Heart of the Eternal, Croce joined forces with in-demand producer Shooter Jennings (Brandi Carlile, Tanya Tucker) and once again pushed the limits of his artistry, arriving at a transcendent selection of songs that journey from psychedelia to Philadelphia soul to Latin-infused jazz-pop with both unbridled imagination and sophisticated grace.
Recorded at the famed Sunset Sound in Los Angeles, Heart of the Eternal came to life during his downtime from the ongoing Croce Plays Croce tour--a widely celebrated run in which he performs classic songs from his late father Jim Croce, along with his own material and a number of specially curated covers. For help in shaping the freewheeling but exquisitely composed sound of his eleventh studio LP, Croce enlisted the first-rate musicians who make up his longtime live band, including bassist David Barard (a Grammy-winner who performed with Dr. John for nearly four decades), drummer Gary Mallaber (whose credits include iconic albums like Van Morrison's Moondance and Tupelo Honey), and guitarist James Pennebaker (Delbert McClinton, Jimmie Dale Gilmore). The follow-up to his critically lauded cover album By Request--and first original body of work since 2017's Just Like Medicine, hailed as "brilliant" by No Depression and a "fluid expression of sorrow and gratitude" by Pop Matters--the result is the latest evidence of Croce's profound gift for imbuing his songwriting with equal parts hard-won wisdom and heart-on-sleeve emotion.
Kicking off with a glorious bang, Heart of the Eternal opens on the exuberant grooves of "I Got A Feeling": a swaggering piece of psychedelic soul threaded with so much lovingly delivered insight (e.g., "There's a message in the tension on the road to inner peace/When you lose the thing you want, you find the thing you need"). Co-written with Tommy Sims (Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt), the gritty yet radiant track finds Croce taking the helm on lead guitar. "From having done all the Croce Plays Croce shows over the past few years, I'm starting to feel a lot more confident as a guitar player," he notes. Another song featuring his exhilarating performance on lead guitar, "Hey Margarita" brings fiery riffs to a fuzzed-out and high-spirited blues-funk anthem. "With that song in particular I felt inspired by Link Wray and [Chicago blues visionary] Hubert Sumlin, and I wanted it to sound like I was playing through an old radio," Croce reveals.
One of the most powerful moments on Heart of the Eternal, "Reunion" takes the form of a gospel-leaning number spotlighting Croce's warmly impassioned vocals and the luminous harmonies of backup vocalists Jackie Wilson and Katrice Ford (both members of his touring band). With its indelibly hopeful contemplation of mortality and loss, "Reunion" emerged from a writing session with John Oates, whom Croce first met when the two performed at a 2023 Ryman Auditorium event honoring the legacy of John Prine. "When we wrote that song John's father had just turned 100 and told John how he couldn't wait for his reunion with his late wife," Croce recalls. "I thought the idea of reconnecting with someone in the afterlife was really beautiful, so John and I each took that song and created our own very distinct versions of it."
Encompassing everything from heartbreak ballads to existential reflections, Heart of the Eternal endlessly illuminates the tremendous depth of Croce's musicality. On "Complications of Love," for instance, the album takes on a beguiling intensity thanks to the track's hypnotic rhythms, lavish guitar lines, and moody violin melodies. "I wrote that song feeling inspired by tango and Django Reinhardt and all these different styles of music with a very romantic element, and the way it came together was a total surprise," Croce says of the latter. And on the album-closing "The Finest Line," he joins country star Margo Price for a soul-searching meditation on the spirit's destiny after death, setting their call-and-response vocals against a backdrop of haunting harmonies and spellbinding piano work. "I wrote 'The Finest Line' in a very dreamlike state, without even thinking of turning it into a duet," he says. "But Margo just happened to stop by the studio and offered to sing, and it worked perfectly for the song."
All throughout Heart of the Eternal, Croce showcases his dazzling singularity as a pianist--a quality born from a lifelong devotion to his very first instrument. "When I first started playing, I was so little that I couldn't even walk to the piano--I had to crawl to it," he points out. Later in his childhood, piano became something of a lifeline for Croce, who suffered a total loss of eyesight from ages four to ten and turned to blind pianists like Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder for much-needed comfort and inspiration. Over the course of an extraordinary career that's found him working with some of the most esteemed producers in music history--including Jack Clement (Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley), Tony Berg (Fiona Apple, Bob Dylan), and Greg Cohen (Tom Waits, John Zorn)--Croce has routinely sought out collaborators who help him to uncover new and unexpected ways of working with piano. To that end, Jennings proved to be an ideal creative partner for the making of Heart of the Eternal. "I love the idea of taking this beautiful instrument and making it sound different than it's ever sounded before, so Shooter and I did a lot of experimenting where we were using guitar pedals and putting unusual effects on the wonderful old Steinway at his studio," says Croce. "Anytime I'm outside my comfort zone it feels really exciting to me, because that's what helps me to grow as a musician."
In the tradition of past releases like his 2009 album Cage of Muses, the title to Heart of the Eternal serves as a subtle nod to Croce's emotional and spiritual relationship with music. "Music has given me everything: it's taught me patience and compassion and empathy; it was my refuge and my religion when I lost my sight as a kid," he says. "When I look back at the music that's inspired me the most, it's the music that has real depth and soul to it, whether that's Little Richard or Otis Redding and Hank Williams or Fiona Apple. Anything that makes me feel is meaningful to me, and I hope that everyone can find that same connection with all of these songs."
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I enjoyed AJ Croce singing Croce and some of his songs. I noticed some of the band members look a little bored. No wonder. AJ did not engage with them at all and didn’t introduce or give them any credit. It seemed that they didn’t like each other. There was also a lot of name dropping. Engage your band and talk a little lass and the show will be better.
Croce plays Croce was a great show, AJ shared stories of his father and of his own journey into music.
First, I will say that AJ Croce is talented and entertaining. The accompanying family pictures and videos were heartwarming. That being said, the concert was presented as Croce singing Croce. AJ sang some of his father's songs with many of his own interspersed. This was not unexpected, but we were disappointed at how he sang his father's songs. He changed the tunes, as well as the phrasing and tempos, for many of the pieces. That was a shame as those aspects are what Jim Croce did so well. His melodies and phrasing told stories that went directly to your heart. We were expecting a nostalgic trek down memory lane, but AJ insisted on doing much (although not all) of it "his way."We were hoping to hear what we already knew. Then....after enjoying what we love.... we would have been receptive to perhaps finding ourselves fans of what he had to offer outside of his father's work. The band was never introduced - We found that strange. The lead guitarist/violin player was AMAZING. The drummer was too loud and overwhelmed the musicality of the pieces. The background singers were pleasant, but unremarkable. Nowadays there is so much technology available to help with sound levels, blending and presentation, that we think they should drag themselves out of the last century and incorporate what would enhance their performance. Many people got up and left halfway through - I don't think they were getting what they expected based on the promotion. AJ spoke a lot about how he has been influenced by so many genres and performers and it felt like a who's who of name-dropping. I don't doubt that many of these people influenced his career, but unfortunately, he never seemed to land on a style that is uniquely AJ Croce. We were truly hoping to leave fans of an artist that we previously knew very little about.
Adrian Croce has had an amazing career and he included some of it in his performance. He told many stories, most with humor, in addition to being an excellent musician. If you have the opportunity to see him, do it. You will not regret it.
Venue: Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Auditorium in Chattanooga, TN, is quite nice, well managed, no bad seats in the house. Performer: A.J. Croce is an excellent performer; keyboard (piano & organ), guitar (multiple), and vocals. He performed (with a small backing band) original compositions and covers of his father’s music. All equally well presented.
Having seen Jim Croce in concert, I was compelled to see A.J. I was not disappointed. He stage personna left you waiting for more. My wife said, I don't know how much you paid for tickets, but it was worth every penny. I will definitely look for upcoming Croce performances.
I've enjoyed AJ several times. This time he paid attention to family music in lieu of his own. He writes great music too, so I missed hearing those. However, the performance and commentary was great!
This is the second year I’ve seen AJ Croce’s show. He is an excellent musician in his own right but like most of the older crowd I especially enjoyed his covers of Jim Croce’s hits. AJ and his backup guitarist took us all back to our youth when Operator and Time In A Bottle were fresh and new. This year, AJ was even better at building rapport with the audience, telling stories and taking requests. It was a great evening.
AJ Croce is an amazing artist! His non-stop 2 hr 20 minute performance was outstanding. His voice and mastery of multiple instruments is impressive. We loved is storytelling and engagement with the audience. This was one of the best concerts I have attended in a long time!
AJ is a multi talented performer. He has a unique voice. He had terrific stories. Overall a super performance!!
AJ is a very talented musician and we loved his music. He really excelled when singing his dad's music and actually think his voice was richer at those times. Excellent concert and would recommend to others for sure.
I absolutely loved having the opportunity to see and listen to the incredibly talented A.J. Croce in Cincinnati this week at the historic Taft Theatre. A.J. Is an extremely talented singer/songwriter/musician and I loved listening to him play his own music (he’s published 10 albums), his fathers music as well as listening to him tell stories about both of their lives. I saw Jim Croce 52 years ago at The University of Dayton and seeing A.J. now completes the circle for me. I highly encourage you to check out this talented artist. I’ll definitely be going back to see him again.
First off thank you to the security staff who helped my husband who has a pacemaker. Ushers and bar people very nice. AJ wasnt sure what to expect, very talented and then some. Loved how he did his own music and a fantastic piano player. Loved how he incorp. his dad's music with the background screen. How his dad introduced him and Time in a bottle broke my heart with him being so young and loosing his dad. AJ we became a fan of yours thank you again for the great performance. Hope you come back to Cincinnati again.
A.J. Croce is an electrifying performer ! He performs his own style of great music along with his Father’s favorites ! A.J. is very engaging with the fans and tells his family history throughout his performance. One of our favorite concerts !
I love Jim Croce music and he really does it justice. But more than that he is such an amazing musician and has his own amazing music. Watching him play the piano is mesmerizing. I saw him perform before and as soon as I saw he was coming back i bought tickets right away
Saw him first time a year ago in Lexington now in Cincinnati, he will for sure be a yearly must attend event. OMG he is amazing on the Piano
His songs sounded really good and he played tribute to his father with the awesome music that he chose to play. Loved all those Great Videos as well as his own songs that were so good. Having AJ tell his stories and the musicians that he has been with throughout his career are unbelievable. THANK YOU AJ. For a Great Evening of Awesome Music !!
AJ is an amazing musician, singer, songwriter, performer and storyteller! I’m so happy he’s keeping his dad’s legacy alive. This is my second time seeing him and it won’t be the last. I had the best time!
I loved Jim Croce, and what a treat it was to hear his music live on through his son. AJ is SUCH a talented musician as well. I've always wanted to see this show, and was so glad that I finally was able to.
always excellent ! Everything see A.J. its excellent...his vocal and instrumental and artistic talent is A+ since first time saw him to present.....Count me in for all the next close shows! THANK YOU A.J.....its a true pleasure and joy and inspiring ......cheers!
