When Etta Parsons, writing for the New Musical Express, reviewed Ethan Johns’ debut album If Not Now Then When?
(2013) she described Johns’ style as “Bill Callahan dealing with a lazy
hangover.” Well, yes and no. Part of what made Johns’ initial album so
frustrating was the paradoxical combination of his obvious talent and
equally obvious lack of understanding of his particular musical voice.
This is not all that surprising when you think about it.
Johns got his start as a producer and has worked with a range of performers that runs shockingly wide (albums produced for Rufus Wainwright, Counting Crows, Kaiser Chiefs, and Paul McCartney are all on his resume). The shift from producing the music of others to making music of your own will always take some time. The result was simultaneously spotty and reassuring. The first four tracks of the album essentially tell the whole story. “Morning Blues,” the opening track, has the flavor of the Pacific Northwest blues, and sounds like something that would fit on the soundtrack to Sons of Anarchy. “Hello Sunshine,” my personal favorite song on the album, has all the lyrical and melodic charm of very early Bob Dylan. “Eden” is Coldplay-ish, and “Red Rooster Blue” sounds like it came off of an Eagles album. What all the songs have in common is high level musicianship and confidence.
There was only a year between the releases of If Not Now Then When? and The Reckoning, which came out this week, but the difference is palpable. The Reckoning is a collection of songs following two 19th century brothers, Thomas and James Younger, as they travel from western England across the American frontier (James leading the way, Thomas perpetually several stops behind). This new album is far more ambitious. It is the product of a single, and easily discernable, voice. You can tell that the songs were developed over a long period of time without extraneous outside influence, and the level of musical execution remains sky-high even as the material has become more complicated. “The Lowdown Ballad of James Younger,” which serves as the hub of the album, is a meditation on how decisions take on their meaning through their consequences. Johns sings that “the meaning [of our actions] tomorrow won’t be the meaning today,” no matter what your plan was, you will be judged by the results rather than the intent. “The Roses and the Dead” deserves to be the kind of breakout hit that Ryan Bingham’s “The Weary Kind” was in 2010, with the same kind of rhythm work on the low strings of the guitar, but it is better than “The Weary Kind” on melodic high strings. That being said, this isn’t a track by track album. It is that much rare, much more difficult to execute, much more rewarding thing: a complete album. Give it a listen.
Ten Tracks
Approximately 50 minutes Total Runtime
4/4
This content appeared originally at Pop, Shop, and Troll
Johns got his start as a producer and has worked with a range of performers that runs shockingly wide (albums produced for Rufus Wainwright, Counting Crows, Kaiser Chiefs, and Paul McCartney are all on his resume). The shift from producing the music of others to making music of your own will always take some time. The result was simultaneously spotty and reassuring. The first four tracks of the album essentially tell the whole story. “Morning Blues,” the opening track, has the flavor of the Pacific Northwest blues, and sounds like something that would fit on the soundtrack to Sons of Anarchy. “Hello Sunshine,” my personal favorite song on the album, has all the lyrical and melodic charm of very early Bob Dylan. “Eden” is Coldplay-ish, and “Red Rooster Blue” sounds like it came off of an Eagles album. What all the songs have in common is high level musicianship and confidence.
There was only a year between the releases of If Not Now Then When? and The Reckoning, which came out this week, but the difference is palpable. The Reckoning is a collection of songs following two 19th century brothers, Thomas and James Younger, as they travel from western England across the American frontier (James leading the way, Thomas perpetually several stops behind). This new album is far more ambitious. It is the product of a single, and easily discernable, voice. You can tell that the songs were developed over a long period of time without extraneous outside influence, and the level of musical execution remains sky-high even as the material has become more complicated. “The Lowdown Ballad of James Younger,” which serves as the hub of the album, is a meditation on how decisions take on their meaning through their consequences. Johns sings that “the meaning [of our actions] tomorrow won’t be the meaning today,” no matter what your plan was, you will be judged by the results rather than the intent. “The Roses and the Dead” deserves to be the kind of breakout hit that Ryan Bingham’s “The Weary Kind” was in 2010, with the same kind of rhythm work on the low strings of the guitar, but it is better than “The Weary Kind” on melodic high strings. That being said, this isn’t a track by track album. It is that much rare, much more difficult to execute, much more rewarding thing: a complete album. Give it a listen.
Ten Tracks
Approximately 50 minutes Total Runtime
4/4
This content appeared originally at Pop, Shop, and Troll
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