Customer Reviews

I Feel Alright

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Thankfully Mike Johnson has never tried to emulate the sound of his day job Dinosaur Jr. With his third solo outing he finally makes clear the humor behind his seemingly despairing music. I Feel Alright seems to be a concept album of songs of heartbreak, yet upon closely listening to the song I Don't Love You (a duet with Tiffany Anders) one hears a sly note of self deprecating humor. Johnson asks why (of a breakup) to which Anders replies "I've got another guy"...to this reviewer high comedy (as well as great songwriting). If you fancy sad sacks such as Cave, Tindersticks, Lanegan or for that matter classic singers like Charlie Rich, you need this album. It's not really all that funny in the end.

After two fine efforts, (not to mention his ongoing collaborations with kindred soul Mark Lanegan) singer/songwriter Mike Johnson has recorded his masterpiece of melancholia. The title I Feel Alright belies its subject matter, with great original tunes like "I Don't Love You No More," "One Liner" and "Turn Around," not to mention great covers of Leonard Cohen's "Leaving Greensleeves," Kris Kristofferson's "I've Got to Have You" and the Saints' "A Minor Aversion." Kind of cross between Cohen and Charlie Rich, Johnson isn't for everyone, but if you love sad songs, you'll be putting this on the shelf right next to your Mark Eitzel and Nick Drake records.

As good as Mark Lanegan's records (on which he plays a huge role) which says it all. Great taste in covers too! The spare reworking of the Saints is wonderful, what a great song. Folked-up w/ pedal steel Message To Pretty is addicting. Turn Around, I Don't Love You, & most of the originals are up to his covers standards as well. Extremely Leonard Cohen-influenced medody-wise

I can say that I had many sad moments in my life, but they were a great source of inspiration as well. The thing that gets me the most although, is how Mike Johnson is able to synthesize these emotions in a way I would have dreamed of doing. Profoundly sad album, but its sheer beauty is Mike Johnson's revenge upon this world and the situations it puts us in. The emotions are real, what more can you ask, its obvious that the music that follows would be great. I would recommend every album of Mike Johnson since they are all unique but I especially like this one, even the cover is great, bitter humor...

this album is pretty incredible, I am going through Mike's catalogue backwards, and although this is not quite as great as "what would you do" Mike's newest album, it is definitely a close contender, and some of these songs are just simply beautiful, a particular favorite would be "i don't love you" probably the most succinct post break up song I have ever heard.
man, if it were still the 60's Mike could have had a very successful career as a songwriter, along the lines of Tim Hardin, he is simply that good.

This is a great place to start with Mike Johnson's solo catalog. It is a major refinement on his debut "A Year of Mondays," which suffers from some dreadfully sophomoric lyrics at points. Musically, he continues to mine the mellow darkness he helped develop on Mark Lanegan's early solo work.

He's no longer trying to straddle the fence between downbeat acoustic guitar and Dinosaur Jr.-style shredding. On "I Feel Alright" he's settled on one sound -- the acoustic one. Excellent harmony vocals by Tiffany Anders offset his world-weary yet rich voice. He sings a bit like a depressed Leo Kottke.

I read a review of this album and it said that Mike's stuff destroys anything J Mascis has ever done. Their must be a mistake here because this style of music isn't even in the same category of music as Dinosaur Jr. It's not the same, it's kind of weird and depressing.