Watchword : independent. This is the mantra that has been with me lately, since I discovered the underworld of American authors who don’t care about the rules of the Nashville music business and the big media, and who release records without the help of the majors and their promotion. Their only megaphone are the listeners, the good old-fashioned word of mouth and must say thanks to the net. Yes, because if there is one thing, one of the few as far as I am concerned, positive of the advent of the internet and its invasion in the world of music, it is this: to be able to discover artists who would never have arrived here and on the side of the artist to be able to bring their “voice” anywhere in the space of a click. Here then that songwriters , who in the past would have been confined to fans, maybe to those who frequent live circuits, can invade the streaming services with thousands of ratings and see their fame rightly get to producers attentive to these things. Addison Johnson comes from Greensboro, North Carolina and listen to the 8 pieces that make up his debut Cherokee Blues is invigorating, a journey almost in the past but with that touch of modern that does not hurt, inspired by the usual notes that inspired so many musicians with their class, Waylon Jennings and George Jones above all, Johnson has talent and writes fresh and never trivial songs. Inspired but not copy and paste, the songwriting is personal and the sound is not affected by the independent production. The first song is pure honky-tonk, of those to dance on the boards of a Texas saloon, Prisoner is supported by a ride of pedal-steel and guitar really engaging and the lyrics is very nice with our captive of the music business. The touch of the piano gives us a really funny piece that you never want to end. The next Turntable Blues is a real time machine, a piece that seems to come out of a classic country record of the golden years, those in which George Jones enchanted true country lovers, a really well written piece with his words that in a personal way speak to us of a finished love. The sound is clean, the piece is one of the most beautiful of the record and will definitely be one of the most beautiful to hear live. Where I Go To Pray is a melancholy and dusty ballad, the violin comes under the skin and the text is no less, almost a four-eyed confession on the places where a family with torments can find peace. Beautiful and not trivial. The title-track begins with the violins flattened as in the best bluegrass tradition and the piece that follows is a western ride influenced by the Outlaws, dust and feelings. I love these pieces that evoke in me almost as if they were photographs those canyons, the desert, the horses as in the films of Sergio Leone. The banjo sound is one of my country favorites. But then you wake up with the dirty sound of the guitar of the next Rock & Rye, rock influences in this delicious honky tonk, which would be to dance non-stop in one of those immense local, between a ride on the mechanical bull and a game of pool. The record closes with a beautiful ballad of country classic, where the violin and pedal-steel are still the master in this original song that talks about love ended in a positive way, Bonfire is the worthy conclusion of a beautiful country record with bluegrass influences, not the radio one, but that speaks to the heart of people who love and work, who struggle but always manages to have fun and dream. Soon, late February 2021, will be out his new hard work Dark Side of The Mountain, I can not wait to find out where his talent has taken him this time and I recommend you to discover this guy who deserves attention and success, a real one that will make music lovers happy without contamination and without commercial influences.
Good listening,
Trex Willer by http://www.ticinonotizie.it
(you can find original italian article at this link : https://www.ticinonotizie.it/ascoltati-da-noi-per-voi-by-trex-roads-addison-johnson-cherokee-blues-2019/?fbclid=IwAR2CjzGvdLPKrWnXH8V-PNwL1FLJXHjoTShs7zuaObAa1hq-SjSQMHE7TQM )
