July 17, 2013

Chuck Johnson: May 26, 2013 Mercury Lounge – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

Chuck Johnson
2013-05-25
Mercury Lounge
New York, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Soundboard + Schoeps MK41>KCY>Z-PFA>Sound Devices USBPre2 >> Edirol R-44 [OCM]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, adjust levels, mix down)>Izotope Ozone 5 (effects, EQ)>Audacity 3.0 (fades, tracking, amplify, balance, downsample)>FLAC ( 8 )

Tracks
01 Swallow the Sun>
02 Albion Source
03 Caldera Wires
04 Vastapol
05 On A Slow Passing In Ghost Town *
06 Crows In the Basilica
07 Mine Creek
08 The Stars Rose Behind Us

If you enjoyed this recording, please support Chuck Johnson, visit his website and purchase Crows In the Basilica from Three Lobed Recordings [HERE]

July 16, 2013

Charlie Parr - Backslider Album Download

From "Backslider: The Music of Charlie Parr"


"Charlie says this is the end of the line for Backslider,... He's generously allowed for it to be posted as a free download..."


So hit the Backslider...
   
   

July 8, 2013

Chuck Johnson - Crows in the Basilica

Needle drop.

The soft crackle of dust in the groove.  Earthy tones emanate from a platter carelessly dodging 33 1/3 RPM.  Precision picking more solid than the thirty year old strobe that needs constant adjusting.

A guitar and a man visit the past: with a nod to a Seeger and Roscoe Holcomb, strings ringing on a parlor guitar.

Four second break.

Earthy tone and thumping bass: the platter gathers speed for the bridge, slows, steadies on the mark, holds.

Pounding thumb paired perfectly with ringing arpeggios.

Dust  crackle.


The new album by Chuck Johnson, Crows in the Basilica is one of those rare experiences where you ask yourself, haven't I been here before? It's a sense of --- not déjà vu.  More of a returning home, grown, wiser. That is the American Primitive that Johnson plays.

Johnson is the rare player that can play with precision and passion.  What did Robbie Basho say: soul before technique?  Well I don’t know which of the two came first for Johnson,  translation of authentic soul into his musical pieces or mastery of his technique.  Clearly both are on display in this latest release.  Melodies and progressions that sound at once fresh and well worn.


                                            Served up for your ears
                                                        as though they've been waiting
                                                                       for this aural delight for years.


The American Primitives aren’t really a lot that strive for a timeless melody.  When you look at the roots of many of today’s practitioners, they hail from the noise and avant-garde realms that Fahey was haunting at the end of his career.  This has had an influence on this recent resurgence of guitar soli.  And that’s fine, but I like just a bit of melody.


A morsel of melody.  A dash of dissonance.

Johnson navigates a fine line.  Songs of beauty, mystery, and discord circle back to beauty.

Always familiar.  Upon first listening to these works an old favorite is revealed.

Dust  crackle.

Auto-return.


Johnson has a way of compelling the abstract leanings of solo guitar to dip a toe in the pool of sweet melody.  Solo guitar has a latent tendency to stay on the fringe of melody.  It’s what makes it so uniquely great as well as sparsely liked or understood.  Johnson is one of those artists that is able to get non-believers to take notice and more than satisfy those of the new AP crowd.

Ha!
And if we are indeed becoming a crowd that is very interesting, isn’t it?
Chuck Johnson is in the vanguard.
Listen.
Enjoy.

      

July 3, 2013

Chuck Johnson - Live on WFMU, May 27, 2013

Click on the pic to visit Doom & Gloom from the Tomb for this goodie!  As usual, Tyler doing a great job!!