Although the former Aucklander has lived in Los Angeles for more than two decades, he draws enthusiastic audiences whenever he returns home. Photo / Supplied
Although the former Aucklander has lived in Los Angeles for more than two decades, he draws enthusiastic audiences whenever he returns home. Photo / Supplied
Greg Johnson maintains a special association with this country. Although the former Aucklander has lived in Los Angeles for more than two decades, he draws enthusiastic audiences whenever he returns home – often during summer and sometimes on the back of a new album.
It’s a following he earned, ashe said in 2009, after “all those years of shitty pubs and many, many miles up and down the country”.
Certainly, some see Johnson – now 56 – through the prism of their own memories: the young trumpet-playing singer conjuring up the whispery spirit of Chet Baker’s cool jazz of the 50s in his band Bluespeak; the engagingly louche singer indulging in fine wine, special cocktails and witty banter; the memorable internationalism of his hit Isabelle; the craftsman of such staples as Save Yourself, Don’t Wait Another Day, If I Swagger, the Silver Scroll-winning Liberty and You Stay Out of Your Life (And I’ll Stay Out of Mine).
Without apparent effort, Johnson refashioned himself from jazz nightclubs to mainstream concerts, cult artist to radio favourite, tipsy raconteur to observant writer, and an artist in the same class as Don McGlashan, Dave Dobbyn, Bic Runga and The Mockers’ Andrew Fagan.
Johnson’s new album, Thunder in Fall, isn’t a departure from recent form and although the cover of R.E.M.’s Drive is unexpected, it fits the melancholy and reflection that have been hallmarks of the past decade.
Writing on a secondhand piano, Johnson weaves images of travel, emptiness, lonely places and quiet consideration into mid-tempo ballads with subtle embellishments from keening trumpet (notably on Riverboat and The Cherry Pickers) and acoustic guitar from American Steve Katz (on the rolling momentum of Grasslands).
The folksy sway of Smile or Frown with Britain’s Julia Fordham veers close to Shane MacGowan’s emotionally broken nostalgia and the more urgent Cavalry – which strains its soldier metaphor – leaven the largely understated mood. The album closer, One Night Out On the Town – about a late walk home – sounds like the kind of song sung solo on the piano to end a concert on a profoundly memorable note.
“Give the kid a chance,” he sings in Next Trip Around the Sun, and although this album has its lesser songs, Greg Johnson’s track record means he’ll always be allowed that.
This album is available now digitally. Greg Johnson 1000 Miles Tour: Venues from Kerikeri to Dunedin, March 15-30. For details go to gregjohnsonmusic.com
