Eh... this is what Eric Johnson sounds like?

Taylor Livingston · #1 02-22-2009, 01:34 AM

So for many years, I have heard people talk about Eric Johnson. Because of guitarists gushing about him and his tone, blah blah, I always assumed he was your typical electric blues Clapton, SRV sort of guy. Not my kind of thing, so I never investigated further.

Today I heard his tune, "Cliffs of Dover".

This sounds like the theme tune for a late 80s family sitcom. I'm imagining Patrick Duffy and maybe a pre-Christian Kirk Cameron, hittin' the ski slopes in a nice montage while this "Cliffs of Dover" thing plays. And they're wearing neon shirts and jeans that go up to their armpits.

Now, my taste in music is perhaps a bit strange. I like Messiaen, Harry Partch, Schoenberg, modern electronic stuff. Mostly music to sit and scratch one's beard to. Not so much happenin' ski tunes. So my perspective might be questionable to some, but... this is what all those guitar guys have been slobbering over? This is the guy who cares so much about his tone that he only uses one brand of battery in his pedals? He stresses over all that for this? Weird.

Before anybody gives me guff about being negative, I need to point out that I love 80s montages with neon colors, so there is absolutely nothing negative here. It just... wasn't what I was expecting.

Robf · #2 02-22-2009, 01:52 AM

I felt the same about Eric Johnson after I heard his style and songs. He's a great player but somewhat too precise and doesn't have soul while playing. It's blank and sterile sounding,it's like a complete opposite of SRV's playing style.

Something I heard about Eric Johnson is he's a perfectionist, and this was a cause why he never made it big.

Lazylion · #3 02-22-2009, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by conical johnson

So for many years, I have heard people talk about Eric Johnson... his tune, "Cliffs of Dover"... sounds like the theme tune for a late 80s family sitcom. I'm imagining Patrick Duffy and maybe a pre-Christian Kirk Cameron, hittin' the ski slopes in a nice montage while this "Cliffs of Dover" thing plays. And they're wearing neon shirts and jeans that go up to their armpits.
Now, my taste in music is perhaps a bit strange... my perspective might be questionable to some...

Ha ha ha ha, man, that's about the weirdest take on Eric Johnson that I've ever heard! Patrick Duffy? Kirk Cameron?? Son, you are out there! LOL I officially question your perspective, sir! I really wish I had an email address for EJ so he could enjoy this assessment too!

I like Eric Johnson's music a lot. Like Clapton, he's done a lot of different types of tunes. He's got more dimensions to him than SRV did. Don't base your opinion of him one any one song. The thing about him is, he's so smooth and his tone is so processed that it's almost hard to realise how good he is.
If you think he sounds sterile and soulless, my advice is turn it up!

And thanks so much for the laugh, I needed that!

bongomania · #4 02-22-2009, 10:17 PM

FWIW I've seen a couple of clips on Youtube where his bassist was seriously kicking butt and taking names... even though the tunes themselves were not interesting to me.

warwick.hoy · #5 02-22-2009, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by conical johnson

Today I heard his tune, "Cliffs of Dover".

I take it you were just introduced to Guitar Hero III.

John Bigboote · #6 02-22-2009, 10:51 PM

Coming from Austin as I do, having met EJ, owning all his solo CDs and having seen him live on a number of occasions, I'll admit I'm biased. But I can comfortably say he's one of the most amazing guitarists alive today. As Lazylion said above, he's so damn good that he makes it look/sound effortless. But if you've ever seen his fingers positively *flying* over the frets, it really doesn't look effortless at all; more miraculous. FWIW, he's also a remarkably humble and gentle guy.

All that said, I know that there are a lot of people who aren't wild about his songwriting, or his singing, or the refinement of his performances. He's an absolute perfectionist, and as a result I think many of his recordings can sound sterile and/or overproduced.

But for me, Ah Via Musicom is a freaking masterpiece.

-jb

JimK · #7 02-23-2009, 04:46 AM

...and the Electromagnets were way cool.

keb · #8 02-23-2009, 06:36 AM

lol!

Even though I like EJ, I've never been a fan of "Cliffs of Dover" for some reason. I bought the Ah Via Musicom album when it was new way back when, and I've almost always just skipped the intro track and Cliffs and went straight to track #3, "Desert Rose". "Trademark" has always been my favorite instrumental on that album.

Baryonyx · #9 02-23-2009, 07:28 AM

I love Eric's "shreddy" stuff like Cliffs of Dover, but his more bluesy stuff often bores me to tears. Cliff of Dover though, that is an incredible piece of music. One of my favourite songs!

Darkstrike · #10 02-23-2009, 07:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bongomania

FWIW I've seen a couple of clips on Youtube where his bassist was seriously kicking butt and taking names... even though the tunes themselves were not interesting to me.

That would be Roscoe Beck, the guys an incredible bassist.
I actually got into EJ, because I was researching him(Beck), as I wanted his Fender sig bass, which has suprisingly little soundclips around.

On topic, Cliffs Of Dover is a bad choice to judge him on, he has many far superior songs out.

Nidan · #11 02-23-2009, 07:55 AM

I've been an Eric Johnson fan since I met him before "Tones" came out over 20 years ago. He was giving a clinic and was very nice , and patient, stayed around to talk to a lot of us after. He has amazing talent, but has never really troden the commercial path.

Like Jeff Beck , some just don't grasp his genius

threshar · #12 02-23-2009, 08:06 AM

I think one of EJs better tunes is SRV.

And yes, Roscoe Beck is very good.
I love the bass on Manhattan.

Baryonyx · #13 02-23-2009, 10:02 AM

Don't forget either, that Eric has played with some great musicians...he played a track on Stuart Hamm's "The Urge" album as well as guesting on John McLaughlin's "Industrial Zen"!

DaveDeVille · #14 02-23-2009, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimK

...and the Electromagnets were way cool.

... i saw him with the ElectroMagnets , many years ago .
it was in a small san antonio bar, with maybe 50 people in attendance ...
absolutely blew me away .

a great guitarist , and a very humble human being .

Taylor Livingston · #15 02-23-2009, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lazylion

Ha ha ha ha, man, that's about the weirdest take on Eric Johnson that I've ever heard! Patrick Duffy? Kirk Cameron?? Son, you are out there! LOL I officially question your perspective, sir! I really wish I had an email address for EJ so he could enjoy this assessment too!

I like Eric Johnson's music a lot. Like Clapton, he's done a lot of different types of tunes. He's got more dimensions to him than SRV did. Don't base your opinion of him one any one song. The thing about him is, he's so smooth and his tone is so processed that it's almost hard to realise how good he is.
If you think he sounds sterile and soulless, my advice is turn it up!

And thanks so much for the laugh, I needed that!

Well, as I alluded to in my first post, I'm not really into electric blues or classic rock sort of stuff, so I never expected this guy to be of interest to me, and that's fine - there's so much music out there for all of us, I don't get caught up in arguing about what music is good or bad. It was more just how different this tune is than what I expected.

I suppose it's what my girlfriend thinks when I talk about how genius Harry Partch is, and then she actually hears his music, and it's indistinguishable to her from a cat walking on an out of tune guitar. Or, perhaps even more extreme, if you've ever met a fan of Jandek, you'd think he was the most genius guitarist of all time. Go ahead and look him up on Youtube if you haven't heard him.

The Golden Boy · #16 02-23-2009, 06:15 PM

I think "Cliffs" is a great piece.

SpamBot · #17 02-23-2009, 06:20 PM

I don't idolize EJ for his playing, though he's a good player, but he has an amazing tone, the likes of which I have never heard anywhere else. I know the CoD tone is a strat through a Tube Screamer and a delay into a Twin, but even with that combo it is very hard, if not impossible to duplicate his tone!

Lesfunk · #18 02-23-2009, 06:27 PM

I'm a big Patrick Duffy fan from way back

oldrocker · #19 02-23-2009, 06:28 PM

Check out EJ on Clapton's 1st Crossroads DVD - Desert Rose. Very Cool, I think I'll go watch it again now.

oldrocker · #20 02-23-2009, 06:40 PM

Just watched it again - still very cool. Not sure I would have worn those pants with that shirt ...

Almost forgot how cool Chris Maresh was on bass in that video as well.