Brian Olive did as Mark Deming of Allmusic suggested; he was apparently already working on his second album, Two of Everything (2011) when the first one, Brian Olive came out. Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys co-produced the album with Olive, and the two also share engineering duties on this venture. Auerbach provides backing vocals along with five women.
Mark Deming was just as enthusiastic about this album in his Allmusic review: “Two of Everything doesn’t sound like [Brian] Olive has turned his back on his blues-based earlier work, but he is veering in a different direction; the results sometimes suggest a Midwestern take on Northern soul as Olive and [Dan] Auerbach throw just a little pop polish on Olive’s vocals and let the pianos and saxophones give the music a subtle but distinct retro feel, even as the steady pulse of several tunes nods politely to hip-hop. But even as Two of Everything travels down a smoother road than its precursor, it still sounds organic, committed, and heartfelt; and Olive sure knows how to write a memorable tune: ‘Strange Attracter’ faces a chunky, T. Rex-style guitar figure against an insistent piano-and-drum pattern that fills up the dance floor; ‘Back Sliding Soul’ suggests an unlikely but effective collaboration between NRBQ and Mark Ronson; ‘Left Side Rock’ bounces hard Southern funk rhythms off aggressive horn samples, and ‘Lost in Dreams’ is a beautifully languid bit of stoned soul love pleading. With Two of Everything, Brian Olive is two for two in making smart, distinctive albums that push his blues and R&B influences in unexpected, compelling directions, matching and building on the strength of his debut.”
In June 2011 – the same week that his album Two of Everything came out – Brian Olive appeared on saxophone in the SuperJam at the massive Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee. This time, the all-star jam was led by Dr. John and Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys.
Brian Olive was one of several Alive Records artists who performed at the Deep Blues Festival in June-July 2012 in Clarksdale, Mississippi. A CD called Alive at the Deep Blues Fest includes two of his songs, “Traveling” and “Bonelle” (both on his second album, Two of Everything).
In July 2014, Brian Olive released a four-song EP called Move. Speak into My Good Eye – which bills itself as the top independent music source in New Jersey – says of the new release: “With Move, [Brian] Olive presents all the tricks he has in his solo songbook, especially those acquired while working with Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys on a sophomore solo effort named Two of Everything (2011). Compressed in this tightly knit four-song package is an alluring bit of beauty and craftsmanship that certainly make the listener want to hear more music in this vein, and with any luck this is merely a preview of a larger recording effort to come.”
(February 2015)
