Search - Freedy Johnston :: Trouble Tree

Great Tunes

03/11/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sure the voice is raw and unrefined and the production is lacking--hell, you should have seen the first cover, it was a joke! But almost song for song this record contains material as good (Gina, Fun Ride, Nature Boy, Tucumcari, Trouble Tree...) as any of his other more mature and professionaly rendered albums.Listen to 'Gina' and tell me you're not witnessing a lonely drunk at some seedy bar rambling on, almost inchoherently, about his lost love. Listen to 'Fun ride' or 'Tucumcari' and tell me you don't see a frustrated working class guy struggling to make it all work despite the odds--despite himself. Johnston's genius is not in just making great tunes but also his ability to bring to life flesh-and-blood characters-- all in a three minute pop song no less! The truth is, if we continue on this 'American Idol' trend of only wanting to listen to voices trained for musical theatre, we are doomed to never hearing anyone as good as guys like Freedy (who, by the way, has been dumped by his label!). Remember all good voices ultimetly sound the same--it's the "bad" ones that are most capable of being unique. This album along with the rest of Freedy's oeuvre will live on long after all the 'American Idol' albums are relagated to the bargain bins of history. Here's hoping Freedy finds a label with vision-- not just dollar signs--in their eyes!"

Loose, gritty, moving and fun......

J. Freeman | Atlanta, GA | 12/20/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a casual Freedy fan, I came across this jem when I was working at a used music store in college. I was hooked after my first listen. It's a very clean sounding record, not over produced. Freedy is a first class songwriter and it shows. I highly recommend this record to anyone considering it."