CD Reviews- Jamey Johnson- The Guitar Song

The Review:

Pardon me if I gush.

In what plays out like an outstanding Broadway story in style and performance, the new 25 song double CD The Guitar Song by Jamey Johnson is- as hard as it may sound- beyond expectations. With elaborate musicianship and production that never leaves its honky-tonk roots, the album is meant to immerse yourself into. Like an old  album, it’s an experience. Songs have prelogues and prologues- elaborate musical finishes that start up and fade into new songs. Each one tells a story and leads into the next. It’s not to be listened to as singles; it’s meant to be listened to as an album. A collection. They’re like chapters in a book. A really good book.

The comparisons to Johnson’s last album, That Lonesome Song are inevitable. That particular album appealed to a near universal acclaim that celebrated its dark morose feel. The Guitar Song certainly draws on that same inspiration but at the same time, certainly has some lighter weight fare that isn’t so much fluff as balance. (Over two dozen songs sung from that dark place of Lonesome would have even the most ardent fan reaching for the nearest therapist or suicide hotline.)

The art of writing in song is the crux and heart of the album. No track better exemplifies this fact than the stark “That’s Why I Write Songs.” Johnson talks and sings his way through a perfectly believable acoustic and sparsely produced song of why he sings like he does. “I knew what I was born to do,” he croons as he pays sweet dedication to the songwriters “that gave us chills” both in lyrics and in sound.

The additional highlights across the rest of the release are many. “By The Seat of Your Pants” crosses light humor and philosophy as he relates a spanking as a youth that enlightens on lessons learned the balance of his life. They’re terrific lyrics made only better by a killer steel guitar bridge. He channels his inner Ray Charles on the soulful R&B flavored ballad “Even The Skies Are Blue.” “Front Porch Swing Afternoon” draws on the same sentimental place of Miranda Lambert’s “House That Built Me” that celebrates rural living without ever stooping to becoming too stereotypical. “Heartache” makes up the prefect representation of Johnson as a performer. He draws on tons of empathetic angst as he portrays the role and persona of love gone wrong. When he growls that he’s coming after you, it almost gives you chills.

“I Remember You” puts Johnson as a protagonist stepping into heaven for the first time. He opens up the song by speaking the question:

“I always thought one of the most important conversations you can have in your life is the first time you talk to God. What would you say?”

He relates a conversation that is simple, yet emotionally charged and filled with a spiritual depth. Music production does the same and the result is a great example of why Johnson’s music is so different from what we’re normally hearing on modern country radio. It makes you feel.

Songs topics have that depth all along the way, whether it is regret by lamenting life on the road on “My Way To You”- which has Johnson cranking up the power in his voice a bit- or “Macon”- in which a church choir-style backing draws on memories of a revival. Even the lighter weight “Set ‘Em Up Joe” becomes a sweet and appropriate jukebox dedication to songs that inspire him while he sings of drowning his sorrows. If that single was a 45 record, it would fit right in with the classic records he sings about in the song.

Overall, The Guitar Song represents a songwriter at the very top of his game and who has been given a rare opportunity to showcase that skill with a large collection of incredibly crafted songs.

The Result:
Four and a half stars out of five