Customer Reviews

Seven Worlds

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Reviewing this album is a bit unfair after hearing "Tones" and "Ah Via Musicom" first, since it was released more than twenty years after its completion. Eric has come a long way, but think about this album in its context. Who was doing this level of playing back then? This predates the first Van Halen album (which rescued guitar from disco's filthy clutches), and not even Jeff Beck was burning with quite this intensity.

Eric was truly ahead of his time, as this album shows. Yes, the production on most of the songs sounds dated by today's standards, and some of the lyrics are somewhat 'corny', but the work and the playing stand on their own merit. And listen to the fun in Eric's playing! The solo in "By Your Side" is chilling.

If this album had been released in its own time, and with proper promotion, Eric might well be less the 'fringe' artist he is today.

This album, finally seeing the light after all these years, is a most worthy testament not only to Eric Johnson but to what was going on with his own playing and the world of "fusion" as he developed as a solo artist out of his precursor band The Electromagnets (whose own compact disc has been newly reissued by Rhino). A rollicking good time was obviously had by all with some very tasty guitar playing by Eric. It is hard to believe just how fresh this music sounds today! And a wonderful reminder of what a GREAT drummer Bill Maddox is (who has his own compact disc out now, called Receiver Set--look it up on the Web--an excellent disc). Great record!!

THis is the first album by Johnson, released a very long time after it was recorded. As his first album, Eric tried to put a lot of ideas into the same album, and the result is alittle bit irregular. But one can already see clearly his amazing talent, his soft voice, all his qualities. Wonderful journey.

This is an old recording of some of Erics' best songs. "Winter Came" is one of my all time favorites. "Emerald Eyes" & "A Song for Life" were inspired by an old "friend". "Zap" is a hot guitar special which I saw Eric perform live in Dallas at the Hard Rock cafe. It was his first music video to be played on MTV.(I was his equipment mgr. back in the 70's) Enjoy!

Although lacking the pristine gloss and soaring masterpiece solos of Venus Isle and Ah Via Musicom, there's a youthful energy and excitement of Eric's unending creativity that truly captures his basic instinct for creating fresh angles in rock gutiar music. Zap is smokin'!!

His instantly recognizable tone is already defined in 1976. While this album doesn't offer the overwhelming sonic landscape of Venus Isle, its stripped down production let's EJ's playing shine through. I've seen him live a number of times and this album is reminiscent of one of his shows. All in all, highly recommended!

Although these are past recordings, some unheard and some are original versions of favorites from Tones, the playing is as always exceptional, and the fact that this is a much more 'raw' recording than his previous ones, you really get to hear him dig his fingers into the fretboard.

Highly recommended for any guitarist or EJ fan. Good work Eric !!

This is a wonderful showcase for EJ's awesome tone and performance! Great progression of style and technique as he's aged. Johnson has peers, but there is none better. What can he possibly do for an encore?

And this is clearly shown in this album, recorded at lat 70's. It's a shame that his lyrics are so boring (cartoonish love themes in BON JOVI and WHITESNAKE style), but his musicianship is complete, with total control of his instrument, without boring you to death with endless solos.

WOW! This is a great piece, of course all of the Eric Johnson fans out there are going to love to add this to their collection. The third track, "DRY ICE" , gives a nugget of fine "Beck" like overtones and pure improvisational brilliance. Too bad that this piece was not re submitted by the artist in question and he gets not one cent of royalties for his efforts...so......FYI. I found this out on the Eric Johnson Mailing list, check it out!!!