One Step Away

John Montgomery | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 1, 2002)
• Original Release Date: July 1, 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Circus Drum
• ASIN: B00006AKWX
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,025,845 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars ONE CLICK AWAY, September 20, 2003

By 

H. Page (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: One Step Away (Audio CD)

"I literally woke up one day, " he says, "and realized that what I really wanted was to become a singer-songwriter. I ended up finishing my doctorate, but I found that my desire to play music just kept getting stronger and stronger."

Those are John Montgomery's own words. In response thereto, let me say this:

That was one lucky day for the rest of us out there listening. For rarely does someone come along with a CD on which every song is a joy to hear. You are instantly addicted.

And nowadys, rarely does one find music that is so hauntingly beautiful in its simplicty, so heartfelt in the complexity of its message, that it brings tears to one's eyes. This is what music should do - if it's good. It moves you. One way or another. (And hopefully not in the direction of turning it off. Think the polar opposite when you think of "One Step Away.")

"One Step Away" does just that. It moves you to listen to it over and over and over again. Instantly, these songs will be humming in your head. They transport you to a place that is so touching as to be almost heartbreaking.

John Montgomery's music is a wonderful surprise party, complete with fragrant flowers filling that room known as the space between your ears. It is a romantic gift.

BUY THIS CD!!
Only a person with a heart of stone would regret doing so.
Just do it.
You're one click away . . .

4.0 out of 5 stars A solid collection of understated folk-pop - strong debut, September 2, 2002

By 

Wade Thomas (Santa Monica, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: One Step Away (Audio CD)

First things first - John Montgomery is NOT John Michael Montgomery, the country singer of the '90's. THIS John Montgomery is a Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter who can most neatly be categorized in the "acoustic folk-pop" genre. One Step Away is his debut recording, and it surely will not be his last. Kindred spirits in the singer-songwriter fraternity, if you're looking for a convenient frame of reference, would probably include Freedy Johnston and Ron Sexsmith, among others.

Full of wistful reflections on love and longing, One Step Away is a beautifully rendered collection of songs that bespeaks a talent to be reckoned with. Montgomery weaves melodies that effectively set the mood of the piece, whether the pensive, melancholy reminiscences of "By The Border," "In The Mirror," and the haunting "Good For Your Heart," or the more urgent, insistent rhythm of "Followed By The Sound" and the title track. These well-crafted melodies provide the lush backdrop for Montgomery's explorations of relationships and the emotions that surround them. The mostly understated, even somewhat abstract lyrics belie a power of observation that Montgomery wields to shine a light on small details, and turn a simple phrase - like a pencil sketch study for a larger painting - into an evocation of a larger whole.

Montgomery does not beat you over the head with hooks; instead - especially in his more up-tempo tracks, such as the album-opening "Not Now, Not Ever" and the irresistible "Marry Me" - they tend to gradually work their way into your subconscious. Indeed, while the mood of the album as a whole is mostly subdued and somewhat melancholy, these upbeat tunes are the ones that will stay with you.

The songs are bolstered by accomplished musicianship throughout, from Montgomery and a talented supporting cast. With a pure, occasionally lilting voice (it somehow doesn't seem surprising to learn that Montgomery spent his college years in Ireland, nor that his mother was a music teacher) vaguely reminiscent of David Gray, Montgomery sings with clarity and conviction. The album's lone cover, a fairly straightforward but heartfelt reading of Dylan's "When I Paint My Masterpiece," replete with lap steel guitar and ringing Hammond organ, proves that Montgomery can hold his own in the midst of a full-on band.

Overall, this is an album full of immensely listenable, likeable tunes, that grow on you not only with their pretty and slyly catchy melodies, but with their subtle and deeper-than-you-first-thought observations on love and relationships. Get this, and keep an eye open for Montgomery's next CD - odds are, you'll want to get that, too.