[Harp-L] Review of "Going Somewhere" on hunterharp.com

[Scott Albert Johnson <scojoharp@xxxxxxxxx>]

I'm very excited about this great review of Going Somewhere from Richard
Hunter, a friend to many here and the author of "Jazz Harp," the seminal
text on jazz harmonica. Richard has been a huge influence on my playing,
especially on the use of effects to expand the sonic palette of the
harmonica. He's also interested in songcraft, which makes me doubly
grateful for his very kind assessment.
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Scott Albert Johnsonâs new record âGoing Somewhereâ literally starts with a
bangâa big drum grooveâthat is soon capped with feverish amped harmonica
whose lines pay homage to the blues tradition without ever directly
invoking it. Throughout this record, on every track of which Johnson sings
lead, plays harmonica, and produced or co-producedâhe also wrote or
co-wrote every track except for a cover of Peter Gabrielâs âI Donât
Rememberâ and Brett Winstonâs âHaunt My Dreamsââthe songs are memorable,
the singing intense, and the harmonica new and powerful, often in
surprising ways. Itâs a great record if youâre into rock nâ roll; in fact
itâs the best rock harmonica record since the early 1990s, when Blues
Traveler came along to shake everybody up with a completely different take
on the instrument.


Rock nâ roll is about outsize emotions and gestures, and this record is
full of them. The production is big and colorful, often very
1980s-synthpop-influenced, especially on those pieces where Johnson adds
color to the harmonicas with effects. (That Peter Gabriel tune fits right
in with this program.) Johnson has deployed no less than 5 guitarists, 3
bassists, and 6 drummers among the albumâs nine tracks, and heâs chosen
well. Every track has the right players for the groove, and the guitarists
complement the harp brilliantly, thank you. Johnsonâs singing is typically
upfront and impassioned, as befits the style and the material.


The recordâs liner notes mention only Lone Wolf harmonica gear, but you
very quickly hear other sounds in the mix, and a look at Johnsonâs
recording notes confirm that he used a Digitech RP200 running tweaked
versions of my patch set for Digitech RP for many of the harmonica parts. I
hear a lot of phase shifters and autowahs in theses pieces; âIf I Only Knew
The Words,â an anthemic rocker with a huge chorus, includes phase-shifted
and otherwise effected harmonica thatâs practically indistinguishable from
a synth, and âI Donât Rememberâ ends with an extended jam between two
heavily effected harmonicas that climaxes with an amped and reverbed (and
relatively conventional) lead harp thatâs about as big as it gets.


Did I mention that Johnsonâs harmonica style is new and different? Heâs
clearly got influences, one of which is apparently John Popper. But I doubt
that anyone hearing Johnson would mistake him for Popper; his note choices
and phrasing are very different from Popperâs, often jazz-influenced, with
a lot more space than Popper usually leaves in his solos. Johnson often
plays fast, but heâs not just spraying notes around; his lines resolve,
sometimes at length, but like the title of the record, you always get the
feeling that heâs going somewhere. Like Popper, he often transitions over
wide spaces in his lines with a glissando or a rapid burst of notes. Also
like Popper, his tone is brighter and lighter than a traditional blues
harp. Heâs got plenty of power, but itâs a very different kind of power
than you hear from a traditional blues player (like Grant Dermody, whose
âSun Might Shine on Meâ I reviewed recently on this blog.) Iâve spent a lot
of time listening to this record to pick up on what heâs doing here, and I
suspect a lot of other players will too.


After the shattering climax of âI Donât Remember,â the record gives us
âSimply Human,â an attractive synth-poppy piece that asks us, in the
context of a robot soliloquy (âMy handsâ are not made of skinââ), what it
means to be a human being. Johnson serves up solos on acoustic harmonica
and phase-shifted harmonica, both sounding eerily natural and unnatural at
once. The last piece on the record is âFragments,â an emotional workout for
voice, acoustic harp, and piano. Itâs a stripped down song, but itâs as big
and lush with feeling as anything else on the record.


Of the recordâs nine pieces, twoâthe jokey country music sendups âJailbirdâ
and âA Bigger Gunââleft me cold. The rest of the record knocks me out, and
Iâve listened to it over and over in the last few weeks, marveling at the
invention in Johnsonâs lines and the glorious settings heâs provided for
them. I bet you will too.

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*âScott Albert Johnson manhandles his harmonica with a masterâs flair. He
is a triple-threat artist who can sing, write and blow his emotions clear
on out of his harmonica like nobodyâs business.â Goldmine [USA]*
*scottalbertjohnson.com/goingsomewhere
<http://scottalbertjohnson.com/goingsomewhere>   *
*facebook.com/scottalbertjohnsonmusic
<http://www.facebook.com/pages/Scott-Albert-Johnson/57364390664>*