press

Have you ever wondered what Radiohead might sound like if they were a country-rock outfit? Now, sure, Wilco has already been called the American Radiohead, thanks in no large part to the experimental and sonically challenging Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but they have nothing on Birmingham, Alabama’s the Great Book of John – a band that takes the paranoia and widescreen open spaces of the British group and pushes it directly and convincingly into straight Americana. On this, their self-titled album, the Great Book of John’s Taylor Shaw vocalizes and swoops to the same transcendent heights of Thom Yorke, and it is an absolute beauty to behold. However, the group also brings stellar songs to the table and crafts them into huge sheets of sound, working with Grammy Award winning engineer Darrell Thorp, who has, yes, done time in the trenches with Radiohead. With such comparisons being bandied about, you would think that the Great Book of John is merely a knock-off, a sound-alike, but this album showcases a band that has absorbed a main influence and has fused it with the rarefied sound of old-time country music and, this might sound like a boast, has crafted an album that is just about as engaging as Radiohead’s high water mark, OK Computer. Simply put, The Great Book of John is a stunning record, one without a weak track in sight, and is one of the most consistently enjoyable albums to reach these ears in quite some time. The Great Book of John is unrelentingly stark and brilliant in equal measure, and you simply just cannot. get. enough. of. it.
From PopMatters

I must admit that I was ready not to enjoy this band.  I almost didn’t even listen to it because the folk scene has been over done as of late.  Luckily I gave it a shot.  This Alabama based band has a nice solid sound that has definitely grown on me.  It looks a few of you guys could have a chance to see them live as well, this fall.  They will be doing a short tour.  It looks like they won’t be traveling too far from home this time around.  Their self-titled album will be released on August 18 on Communicating Vessels.
From Indie Today

There’s a beefy sound to this track, ‘Robin Hood’, from The Great Book of John. It’s epic in a very understated way. Let’s hope for more of the same on the band’s self-titled album when it’s released on August 16.
From Bowlegs

The Great Book of John is the newest project from erstwhile Wild Sweet Orange man, Taylor Shaw. The band’s self-titled sophomore effort arrives August 16th thanks to the fine folks at Communicating Vessels, and if lead track Robin Hood is a worthy indicator, you best make extra room for this record on the CD rack. Sounding a little like Jeff Buckley fronting Pink Floyd, Robin Hood has apparently been given the deluxe treatment by producer Jeffery Cain (Remy Zero, Dead Snares) and Grammy Award-winning engineer Darrell Thorp (Radiohead, Beck, Outkast). This tune sounds big. Huge in fact, thanks to densely-layered guitars and jaw-dislocating drums, all serving to float Shaw’s impressionistic lyrics, which call to mind fellas with surnames like Cohen and Dylan. Not bad company to keep. Not a bad band to keep an eye on.
From MOKB

The Great Book of John is led by Taylor Shaw of Birmingham Alabama band, Wild Sweet Orange. Their latest album is a self titled one, and My Old Kentucky Blog just premiered a fantastic track from the record called “Robin Hood”. It’s a big deal to say that this song reminds me of 90′s Radiohead, but it does.
Taylor wants the build down all those bastards that steal from the poor. How can you not like him?
From We All Want Someone To Shout For