Johnny A
Johnny A Get Inside
(Favored Nations)
Review by Matt Robinson
This
is the sound of a man who knows its instrument letting it play. From the
clean chimes of the well-named opener “Hip Bone” (accent on the first
syllable) to the equally appropriate jangler “I Had to Laugh,” the songs
in this strong set are not as much performances as expressions that come
as much from the soul of the instrument as from that of the man at the
controls. Johnny A. is indeed a master- a performer who can strafe the sky
with blistering runs or drift back to earth on a cloud of vibrato. While
“Sing Singin’” recalls A’s breakout hit “Oh Yeah” (from the album Sometime
Tuesday Morning), the title track to this collection slinks around in new
directions. Speaking of directions, this album goes off in a lot of them
from the after hours blues of “Krea Gata” to the Rockabilly rave-up
“Ignorance is Bliss” and from the Country twang of “Bundle of Joy” to the
effective “Stimulation,” which straddles the border between ZZ Top’s Texas
and Santana’s Mexico. But even when he crosses the line to actual
tributes, as he does with a rainy smooth rendition of Johnny Rivers’ “Poor
Side of Town” and a revolutionary reworking of Jimi Hendrix’s “The Wind
Cries Mary,” A. lets his own soul and style ring through the wordless
lyrics of others. Throughout it all, A. offers a sound that is all his
own; a sound that invites investigation and rewards with great enjoyment.
- Matthew S. Robinson
c. 2004, M. S. Robinson, ARR
|