 In Your Ear This is the age of the do-it-yourself musician. High quality, inexpensive home recording and the internet have provided an outlet for musicians of all skill levels to take their case directly to the public. From Boston's North Shore, Salem, to be exact, comes Johnny A. This guitar alumni from Peter Wolf's band, has taken it upon himself to write, arrange, produce, record, distribute, and promote his debut album, "sometime tuesday morning" for his own Aglaophone Records label. That sounds like far too many full-time jobs to me! Johnny A. did afford himself the luxury of professional studios. Recording and mixing were done at Blue Jay in Carlisle, Massachusetts, and mastering was handled by Classic Sound in New York City. The rest, however, is very much a Johnny A. cottage industry. "sometime tuesday morning" is an ethereal wonder. It can be smoky and slow, lean and clean, or precise and punchy...sometimes, all within the context of a three minute song. Johnny A. is a guitar stylist of the highest caliber, making it easy to understand why he's in such demand as a session and touring musician. His versatility is staggering! In one breath he's a mellow Stevie Ray, in the next he's as fluid and smooth as Les Paul, and in yet another, he's playing tonal fretboard tricks that would rival those of Stanley Jordan. In and around all that, he's a dozen other guitar legends, ranging from the international flair of Django to the rockabilly boogie of Scotty Moore, to the tasteful blues minimalism of T-Bone Walker. What emerges is an incredibly talented man, who is obviously well-studied in his instrument, and who brings to it a freshness and inventiveness that at once reminds us of those legendary masters who came before, and paves the way for present and future players to keep the incredible language of the guitar alive. Johnny A. will dazzle you with his light jazz/spaghetti western treatment of Jimmy Webb's "Wichita Lineman". Lennon and McCartney's "Yes It Is" shows up at the door like an old friend. Johnny A. revisits The Ventures' classic "Walk Don't Run", packing 'edge of the seat' trepidation that carries far more emotional weight than the original. The Johnny A. originals, of which there are eight, are all equally tasty and diverse. "Two Wheel Horse", "Oh Yeah", and the campy, tongue-in-cheek "Tex Critter"are my favorites. "sometime tuesday morning" is a must-have guitar album...no, wait...it's a must have, period! -Michael Thurston- |
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