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Song

What Doesn’t Kill You (Only Makes You Stronger)

Artist

Jack J Hutchinson

Jack J Hutchinson backstory

Jack J Hutchinson’s been a permanent fixture on the Rushonrock radar for more than five years now.

And almost everything the well-travelled singer songwriter says and does resonates with our own rock and roll ethos.

2019’s Rival Sons-soaked Who Feeds The Wolf was a no-brainer as a prime pick for Record Of The Week.

And Hutchinson has continued to triumph in the face of adversity — working harder than ever through a period of successive lockdowns and uncertainty around the future.

The decision to work with über producer Kevin Shirley is a masterstroke.

In fact, the remixed version of What Doesn’t Kill You (Only Makes You Stronger) screams ‘artist in the ascendancy’.

And we can’t wait to hear what Shirley’s done with Down By The River, The Hammer Falls and new tune Days Of Thunder.

Hutchinson has embraced the independence and opportunity afforded to musicians prepared to go the extra mile in the post-pandemic climate.

And his redoubtable work ethic and ear for a retro-fuelled anthem suggest the time is now for one of rock’s most exciting emerging talents.

In Jack J Hutchinson’s own words:

“To be given the opportunity to work with Kevin Shirley was a dream come true. 

“He’s produced some of my favourite artists including Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden and The Black Crowes. 

“So I jumped at the chance!”

“Shooting the video for What Doesn’t Kill You in the bowels of the Old Bridewell Police station in Bristol was cool.

“Local legend has it that it’s haunted.

“It was a lot of fun filming down in the cells and unlike anything I’ve done before. 

“Thankfully they let us out at the end of the day but it was close!”

The verdict on What Doesn’t Kill You (Only Makes You Stronger)

Kevin Shirley’s crisp mix breathes new life into an old favourite as Hutchinson emerges reinvented and reinvigorated.

Paired with a classically doom-laden video, What Doesn’t Kill You (Only Makes You Stronger) never sounded so good.

And its vibrant melody and heavy blues riff underpin a track that has Hutchinson going full-tilt Randy Rhoads-meets-Paul Kossoff.

Few members of the UK’s burgeoning DIY singer songwriter community boast a personality and level of professionalism on a par with the Hutch.

But, somewhat bizarrely, he remains an outlier on the NWOCR scene — at a time when his supreme talent and undeniable charisma make for a peerless package.

Working with an industry leader of Shirley’s calibre can only help propel Hutchinson into the blues rock big leagues.

And there’s little doubt this remixed version of a firm fan favourite will force classic rock’s tastemakers to sit up and take notice.

About time, too.

What’s next for Jack J Hutchinson

Fresh from wowing the locals at this year’s NAMM festival in Southern California, one of the hardest working men in rock is cracking on.

New EP/DVD What Doesn’t Kill You (Only Makes You Stronger) is released on September 2.

And a week later Hutchinson appears at Rockin’ The Bowl in Sheffield — before a run of UK headline dates starting in October.