ERIC JOHNSON – EJ (2016)
Exquisite guitarist ERIC JOHNSON is presenting his first all-acoustic album simply titled “EJ” showcasing the Texan superb elegance through nine original compositions and four covers, easily Johnson’s most intimate release to date.
“EJ” brings listeners as close as possible to hearing Johnson in his own living room, performing songs on steel-string & nylon-string acoustic guitars and piano.
Johnson, long known for his painstaking approach to making records, used a much more immediate approach for the self-produced “EJ”. Almost all the material was cut live, with Johnson singing and playing at the same time.
On the original compositions “Wonder,” “Fatherly Downs” and “All Things You Are,” Johnson frames his sweet voice with his 1980 Martin D-45, a gift from his late father. He plays the steel-string on his superlative instrumentals “Once Upon a Time in Texas,” “All Things You Are” and “Song for Irene.”
He conjures the beautiful, pensive tones of “Serinidad,” another original instrumental, on a Ramirez nylon-string guitar. A spirited steel-string arrangement of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinson” rounds out the solo guitar tracks.
Johnson recasts another Simon and Garfunkel favorite, “Scarborough Fair,” for voice and piano, and plays piano on the originals “Water Under the Bridge,” “November” and the delicious “Wrapped in a Cloud,” an ensemble track with acoustic bass, cello, drums and percussion.
In a move that’s sure to surprise his fans, Johnson rearranged Jimi Hendrix’s “One Rainy Wish” for guitar and piano, capping the performance with a smokin’ piano solo.
Rounding out the record is Johnson and guest guitarist Doyle Dykes’ superlative cover of Les Paul’s classic “The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise.”
While Eric Johnson might have been notoriously meticulous when recording a new album – it’s been said that the Austin-based guitarist had things so dialed in with his setup that he could hear a difference in the sound of his guitar pedals depending on the type of batteries being used – now he had a very different approach to “EJ”.
The process of writing for the acoustic album helped to remind Johnson of some of the key elements that are really important when it comes to putting songs together: simplicity.
Emphasizing his formidable skills as a singer-songwriter, Johnson’s first completely unplugged album is also his most immediate, and one of his best.
Highly Recommended
01 – Mrs. Robinson
02 – Water Under the Bridge
03 – Wonder
04 – Wrapped In a Cloud
05 – Once Upon a Time In Texas
06 – One Rainy Wish
07 – Serinidad
08 – Fatherly Downs
09 – The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise
10 – November
11 – All Things You Are
12 – Scarborough Fair
13 – Song for Irene
Eric Johnson – vocals, guitars, piano
Tommy Taylor, Wayne Salzmann – drums
Roscoe Beck, Chris Maresh – acoustic bass
Doyle Dykes – guitar
Molly Emerman – violin
John Hagen – cello
BUY IT !
www.mascotlabelgroup.com/eric-johnson-ej-cd.html
.
