Tasty and refreshing, but not to everyone's palette. Like a nice glass of turps... (Eric Johnson in general)

Name: Todd L

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Product:	Eric Johnson in general
Date:	08.11.01 (108 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Blindingly capable, offers an alternative to the norm

Disadvantages: But only for those who can see and appreciate and his appeal

Forgotten one-third of a trio of extremely capable and innovative modern-day guitarists, - the other two in question here being Joe Satriani and Steve Vai - Eric Johnson is the most difficult of the three for me to justify liking to other people. In the obscurest places, there're generally a couple of associates of mine who've heard of Satch and Vai, but, as if the audience for electric guitar music these days wasn't limited enough, it seems even those who're into it have rarely heard Johnson's name, let alone picked up one of his albums. Johnson (maybe inadvertently) has ended up the underdog of a widely unpopular art, shrouded typically in a veil of one with both the talent to perform the music that he enjoys producing, and the self-restraint not to turn his considerable abilities to cutting yet more of the same cliched sounds which dominate popular music these days.

Try telling that to my mates ! I gave up a long time ago, not wishing to dredge up Johnson's entire biography just to explain to colleagues who probably aren't terribly interested who he is and where he's from. So if anybody asks, my musical interests start with STEPS and Kylie Minogue (hey, you've gotta keep up with the trends of the time, even if it does mean telling barefaced lies !), and stop, after some probing, with Joe Satriani, who some of you will've heard of. But if you're an offbeat nut excited at the prospect of some new genre-blurring guitar-based material in a vaguely Satriani-esque mould to listen to, please read on and I'll try and fill you in as best I can...

Laid-back Eric Johnson is a Texan through-and-through, born 'n' bred in Austin, not so very far from the lineup of ZZ Top, in fact, although if the two share anything in style, I've yet to discover it. A practising guitarist from the age of 13, Johnson was influenced by club-scene compatriot Stevie Ray Vaughan, famed string player in his own right, esp
ecially on the scene the impressionable young Johnson grew up with. A Grammy award winner and listed under Musician Magazine's 100 Greatest Guitarists of the 20th Century (wow ! What an accolade ! In the most patronisingly sarcastic sense of the phrase "wow ! What an accolade !"), Johnson emerged from years of obscurity when he was 31 years old, at last finding sanction with the Warner Brothers' label, Reprise Records. Inspired by, among others, Hendrix and Clapton, yet offering a thoroughly fresher and more modern experience, Johnson's sound is kind of what you might expect to cultivate should you genetically crossbreed Satriani-esque 'new-wave' rock with a mood music tape. It's an often intensely atmospheric sound, with a uniquely moving execution.

This runs genetically throughout all of Johnson's solo work. Following the generally tired formula of mixing vocal cuts with strongly defined all-instrumental numbers, Johnson executes everything he does with restraint and objectivity, making for clean and pure sonics. And while his vocals aren't quite up to the standard of the rest of it, they're unintrusive and fit ideally with the musical tone the artist has made his own. And, despite displaying a range of different styles (with his accomplished CV encompassing everything from ballads and jazzy grooves to experiments with prog-rock), he never appears out of his depth, as a vocalist or musician. At his best, however, Johnson sits in creative limbo, fusing a number of genres while conforming to none. Singles such as the sleeping radio hit 'Cliffs of Dover' offer an instant appeal and empowering execution of licks and riffs, displaying the artist's flare with his chosen instrument.

So despite having only been around for a relatively short time, there are already a good deal of flawless gems in his collection.

If Johnson has his failings (and he does), for the big one you need look
no further than his release schedule. Some live work with the G3 tour (funnily enough, touring alongside Steve Vai and Joe Satriani, making up "G3") and a couple of group space blues/jazz releases intentionally distanced from his solo career (the Live and Beyond album and Johnson's earlier work with the band that provided him with a useful launch pad, the Electromagnets) aside, he has graced us with just 3 solo albums since 1985's 'Tones', excluding the archival curiosity of 'Seven Worlds', a compilation of some older efforts of his which hit stores in 1998. Although a new album is in the works right now, Johnson is famed for his insatiable desire for utter perfection - perhaps one of the reasons his name is so seldom heard, even in the sort of circles which seem to fit. In essence, this means that every album he brings out will feature supremely polished pieces of work, but maybe only about 10 or 11 tracks of it - if you're lucky. A prolific songwriter Johnson is not, but in his favour he has yet to include a duff track among the 32 that've seen the light of day. They all radiate the time, care and attention lavished on them, as or maybe even exceeding what you might expect with over a good half a decade spanning their release.

If you're looking at him objectively, perhaps one could also question Johnson's talents as a musician. Despite being at the top of his game as a composer, the tastefully restrained acoustics which characterise Johnson's music mean that it's difficult to pin down his technical capabilities with the guitar. A typical Johnson track almost understates the importance of Johnson's role, because the artist, a devout fan of classical compositions, believes in writing great music, and not great electric guitar music, or great excuses to show off riffs to an audience. This lends Johnson an understated, very individual touch, but simultaneously cuts out the excuses to show off tha
t Steve Vai and, to a lesser extent, Joe Satriani incorporate into their work. This doesn't mean a Johnson album necessarily sounds better or worse for it, but there's no telling where the man stands as a player. He sells the true extent of himself short, which is a sacrifice to his popularity with old school rock fans, but a blessing for those of us who find something intangibly unspecific yet immensely appealing about his signature sound. For me, a calm, laid-back feeling comes with it, relaxing and peaceful, soaring and powerful, and always moving, there's just something about this sound - and I suppose the emotion and spirit behind it - which does it for me. Because it's such an impossible thing to pin down (what turns everybody on musically is such a personal thing), I can't promise it'll do the same for you, but it is definitely worth a try for the sensations it has to offer if it does, particularly with the last two albums. And, with most of Johnson's work trading at about £9, you've nothing to loose and everything to gain from having a go.

The same could be said of the nature of Johnson's albums. Do not look at this guy's career for convoluted twists and turns and bold new stylistic explorations that - inimitably - some choose. Johnson hasn't spent his career innovating, he has spent it refining: perfecting the core values of his sound, and raising the bar a notch each time with it. Never departing from the same old bag of tricks could be criticised as unimaginative and boring, and I would do so if I didn't find it all such an appealing listen. You can unfailingly count on Eric to produce a small bag full of stylish and listenable material whenever he is ready to deliver. Despite the hefty intervals, I'd feel churlish complaining about the lack of any big new ideas here for the very same reason I'd feel cheated by lesser artists for not serving them up. You can get away with sticking to your
guns if you're good enough, and that standard of composition is rare. This is as explicit an example as I've found.

Johnson operates at a level far above where mainstream is trading right now, and won't be selling out in the singles charts anytime soon. Equally, an album of his material offers something different enough to what fans of Vai and Satriani, the accepted big cheeses of this genre, might expect. On personal taste alone, I would rate each one of his albums a 5 now, and feel fully justified in doing so, even if some of the earlier stuff is beginning to date a little now. But I can't guarantee that Johnson will appeal to everyone out there, including those who might think they know what they're getting. Conversely, I would recommend that every one of them at least tries him out. That a man as skilled and individualistic as Johnson has selflessly gone overlooked, even among enthusiasts, for so long is nothing short of a tragedy.

Find out more at http://www.ericjohnson.com , and please, try Venus Isle or Ah Via Musicom out if you can find the time someday. Well worth a listen because, if you find it does appeal, you might just find the delights within outstanding.

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