JOHNNY LIMA – Unplug ‘N Play +1

As requested, here’s San Francisco Bay Area singer / songwriter JOHNNY LIMA  very good album entitled “Unplug ‘N Play”. Yes, it’s an acoustically driven record but including drums, bass, lots of guitars and of course, Lima’s trademark vocal harmonies.
If you thought Johnny was always a Bon Jovi clone (at least vocally) just wait to hear “Unplug ‘N Play”… but you know? Who cares, because BJ is not producing this kind of ’80s stuff anymore, and Lima does, and really, really well done.

The album kicks off with “So Excited”. The combination of the beautiful intro and Johnny’s recognizable voice captures your interest and attention right away and stays with you for the rest of this song (and album).
“Still Doing Nothing At All” starts with its mellow yet solid intro, then Lima’s voice feels warm through the whole track and especially during the chorus. The track is somehow synced with track 7 “I’m On My Way”.
“I Do” is a love song that should be included in everyone’s slow dance song collection. Jon Bon Jovi would be green of envy with this one as it’s batter than anything he has written in the last twenty years.

“Hallelujah! (What’s It To Ya?)” is an uptempo rocker with a hooky chorus and most importantly meaningful lyrics. This song comes across as Johnny expressing himself about the simple view of don’t point your holy book at me while judging me, when clearly your book states though shall not judge others.
“Feel What It’s Like To Be Loved” includes some great cellos & strings, building up beautifully in its melody and the lyrics just flow from verse to chorus and 4 minutes later as the song fades out, you realize this is one of the most solid tunes penned by Lima over his career. Really good.

“Superman” sounds like ’80s Bon jovi, simple like this. The song is performed with full instruments (although all acoustic) and you can imagine the chorus sung by the crowd at big arenas.
“I’m On My Way” slows things down with the signature Johnny smooth verse-course-verse transition. As I said earlier it sounds like this starts where “Still Doing Nothing At All” ends.

“Nothing Worth Losing You” is a powerful song not only because of its lyrics but also Lima’s emotional vocal performance, very slow but with substance, then “Let It Shine” picks up the tempo and delivers another catchy chorus. This is how Bon Jovi should sound like in 2015! Clean pure catchy and rocking softly.
The album sadly comes to an end with the even more uptempo “I Got The Girl”, that at some point remembers me Mike Tramp’s last acoustic works yet with the typical Lima’s vocal timbre.

What I really liked about “Unplug ‘N Play” is it’s rocking spirit. Johnny Lima goes acoustic here, but this is not a bland album by any means. You have drums, bass, strings, percussion, even some keyboards all sounding absolutely organic.
Lima’s still rocks in acoustic style, his vocals are in great form and his songwriting skills are intact (if you love the ’80s style).
Highly Recommended

01 – So Excited
02 – Still Doing Nothing At All
03 – I Do
04 – Hallelujah! (What’s It To Ya?)
05 – Feel What It’s Like To Be Loved
06 – Superman
07 – I’m On My Way
08 – Nothing’s Worth Losing You
09 – Let It Shine
10 – I Got The Girl
BONUS:
11 – Another Lonely Day (rare acoustic version)

BUY IT
www.amazon.co.uk/Unplug-Play-Explicit-Johnny-Lima/dp/B018SDYSC6
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