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Editorial Reviews
2010 release from the guitar great. Eric Johnson rates as one of the premier guitarist of our day, but also excels as a composer, singer and musical entertainer. He boasts a Grammy award and five nominations, a platinum album, and the rare achievent of instrumental hit songs.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
32 of 37 people found the following review helpful
By aMusings
Format:Audio CD
Being a long time fan, its great to see a new EJ album after the wait since 2005's "Bloom".
Unfortunately, Up Close is a bit hit and miss in its delivery - lots of variety but the album feels disjointed, more like a collection of singles, with too many guest vocal collaborations.
That's not to say that the guests don't deliver:- there are some fine performances, particularly Johnny Lang on Austin and Malford Milligan on Brilliant Room. Austin is probably the album highlight (it's also the first single from the CD) with a melody that immediately recalls Stevie Wonder's "I was made to love her" - top stuff!
Austin is also the best balanced collaboration, allowing EJ to step forward with some fantastic soloing but too often the other vocal tracks seem to showcase mainly the vocalists, and EJ's signature melodic guitar runs rarely take centre stage (see for example Brilliant Room or A Change Has Come to Me.)
Texas is a close relation of Red House, and features Steve Miller on vocals. Being EJ, it's technically flawless in performance, but ultimately remains a fairly standard blues number that fails to excite or explore new territory and, at 6+mins long, it actually stops the album's early build up of momentum.
On the plus side, Arithmetic and Your Book are both wonderful ballads, with Eric taking lead vocals. It's not new ground for Eric but these are both great songs and touching performances.
It's a shame that A Change Has Come to Me doesn't fulfil its early promise, opening with some great chiming tones, some lovely Hendrixy phrasing and a strong chorus but the song never lands the knockout punch, losing direction somewhat in its latter stages, with a reprise section that feels tacked on and awkward.
Of the instrumental tracks, Gem is the standout and ranks among EJ's best work - a real signature piece that could easily sit on the classic, Ah Via Musicom. Fatdaddy is punchy and fun, although Soul Surprise is a mid-tempo piece that slips by without really demanding or capturing the listener's attention. Vortexan plays with the riff from "No One Knows" by QOTSA before taking us on a Texan boogie in the spirit of early ZZ Top, and is another of the album's high points. On The Way is a country piece, returning to a familiar stylistic theme for Eric and recalling earlier efforts, Steve's Boogie / Tribute to Jerry Reed.
As a final aspect to the variety on offer here, there are 3 "interludes" throughout the album which sit between tracks but don't actually serve as stylistic or melodic links. Layers of tuneful guitar overdubs & feedback build up, more soundscapes (or noodling if you want to be hyper-critical!) than actual songs. At less than 2 mins each, these pieces aren't substantial enough to develop any musical ideas, so they feel a bit redundant to sit through.
Overall, Up Close is certainly a classy effort, full of great playing, writing and vocal performances. The production is also great - loud but clear and dynamic. EJ looks to be aiming for some crossover appeal with the guest vocalists, however the downside of that is the songs don't gel together stylistic which makes the album - as a whole - a less satisfying listening experience.
Up Close is not, therefore, a contender for Eric's career-best album (currently Ah Via Musicom with Venus Isle close behind) but it's worth checking out, notably for Austin and Gem which should definitely be on any EJ fan's best-of playlist!
Unfortunately, Up Close is a bit hit and miss in its delivery - lots of variety but the album feels disjointed, more like a collection of singles, with too many guest vocal collaborations.
That's not to say that the guests don't deliver:- there are some fine performances, particularly Johnny Lang on Austin and Malford Milligan on Brilliant Room. Austin is probably the album highlight (it's also the first single from the CD) with a melody that immediately recalls Stevie Wonder's "I was made to love her" - top stuff!
Austin is also the best balanced collaboration, allowing EJ to step forward with some fantastic soloing but too often the other vocal tracks seem to showcase mainly the vocalists, and EJ's signature melodic guitar runs rarely take centre stage (see for example Brilliant Room or A Change Has Come to Me.)
Texas is a close relation of Red House, and features Steve Miller on vocals. Being EJ, it's technically flawless in performance, but ultimately remains a fairly standard blues number that fails to excite or explore new territory and, at 6+mins long, it actually stops the album's early build up of momentum.
On the plus side, Arithmetic and Your Book are both wonderful ballads, with Eric taking lead vocals. It's not new ground for Eric but these are both great songs and touching performances.
It's a shame that A Change Has Come to Me doesn't fulfil its early promise, opening with some great chiming tones, some lovely Hendrixy phrasing and a strong chorus but the song never lands the knockout punch, losing direction somewhat in its latter stages, with a reprise section that feels tacked on and awkward.
Of the instrumental tracks, Gem is the standout and ranks among EJ's best work - a real signature piece that could easily sit on the classic, Ah Via Musicom. Fatdaddy is punchy and fun, although Soul Surprise is a mid-tempo piece that slips by without really demanding or capturing the listener's attention. Vortexan plays with the riff from "No One Knows" by QOTSA before taking us on a Texan boogie in the spirit of early ZZ Top, and is another of the album's high points. On The Way is a country piece, returning to a familiar stylistic theme for Eric and recalling earlier efforts, Steve's Boogie / Tribute to Jerry Reed.
As a final aspect to the variety on offer here, there are 3 "interludes" throughout the album which sit between tracks but don't actually serve as stylistic or melodic links. Layers of tuneful guitar overdubs & feedback build up, more soundscapes (or noodling if you want to be hyper-critical!) than actual songs. At less than 2 mins each, these pieces aren't substantial enough to develop any musical ideas, so they feel a bit redundant to sit through.
Overall, Up Close is certainly a classy effort, full of great playing, writing and vocal performances. The production is also great - loud but clear and dynamic. EJ looks to be aiming for some crossover appeal with the guest vocalists, however the downside of that is the songs don't gel together stylistic which makes the album - as a whole - a less satisfying listening experience.
Up Close is not, therefore, a contender for Eric's career-best album (currently Ah Via Musicom with Venus Isle close behind) but it's worth checking out, notably for Austin and Gem which should definitely be on any EJ fan's best-of playlist!
24 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
It's been five long years since the release of Eric Johnson's last disc "Bloom" and now, finally is his latest release "Up Close".
For Mr. Johnson this is a quick turnaround for new music seeing that the span between "Bloom" and his previous release "Venus Isle" was eight lonnnggg years.
This is what we Eric Johnson fans have grown accustomed to because the end result is always outstanding and this release is no different.
This disc is a little different then previous releases.
Eric who does most of his own vocals, has many guests taking over the vocal reins. Steve Miller on "Texas", bluesman Jonny Lang on "Austin" and Malford Milligan does "Brilliant Room".
Guitar greats Sonny Landreth and Jimmy Vaughn also make appearances playing guitar on "Your Book" and "Texas" respectively.
The great Johnson instrumentals are also here. Fatdaddy and Gem are two of my new favorites.
After giving it a few listens it could very well be one his best.
This will be in my home system for quite some time.
So EJ and guitar fans go out and buy this as an early Christmas present to yourself, because, like me, I couldn't wait.
For Mr. Johnson this is a quick turnaround for new music seeing that the span between "Bloom" and his previous release "Venus Isle" was eight lonnnggg years.
This is what we Eric Johnson fans have grown accustomed to because the end result is always outstanding and this release is no different.
This disc is a little different then previous releases.
Eric who does most of his own vocals, has many guests taking over the vocal reins. Steve Miller on "Texas", bluesman Jonny Lang on "Austin" and Malford Milligan does "Brilliant Room".
Guitar greats Sonny Landreth and Jimmy Vaughn also make appearances playing guitar on "Your Book" and "Texas" respectively.
The great Johnson instrumentals are also here. Fatdaddy and Gem are two of my new favorites.
After giving it a few listens it could very well be one his best.
This will be in my home system for quite some time.
So EJ and guitar fans go out and buy this as an early Christmas present to yourself, because, like me, I couldn't wait.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By Jeremy
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Like many of my favorite albums, this one grew on me the more I listened to it. Eric has some guest singers on a few tracks, which was cool. His lead tone has evolved over the years. There's definitely less delay on this album than in the past; giving it a more natural sound. I like it.
Instrumental Tunes: 'Fatdaddy' and 'Vortexan' to me seem like generic bluesy-rock space-fillers without much meat. I felt the same way about 'Camel's Night Out' and some of Eric's other previous tracks. Conversely, the instrumental tune 'Gem' is catchy. Think 'Pavilion'. I think the chicken pickin' tune 'On the Way' is unremarkable.
Vocal Tunes: Honestly, I've always found Eric's lyrics a bit trite and obtuse. I felt the same about 'A Change Has Come to Me', 'Brilliant Room', 'Your Book', and 'Arithmetic' at first as well. The fantastic phrasing between lines, Hendrixy tone, and catchy melody on '...Change' finally won me over. 'Brilliant Room' has some great leads. 'Arithmetic' has a good message and probably has some deep meaning for Eric, and I appreciate it from that level. The brief intro to 'Arithmetic' is wonderful and reminds me of a more complex version of the intro to 'Take My Hand' by Toto (credits from the movie Dune).
All said, I like this album better than 'Bloom' and think it's on par with 'Venus Isle'. I'd give it a 4.5 if I could, but will round up to 5 since I've been an EJ fan for many years.
Instrumental Tunes: 'Fatdaddy' and 'Vortexan' to me seem like generic bluesy-rock space-fillers without much meat. I felt the same way about 'Camel's Night Out' and some of Eric's other previous tracks. Conversely, the instrumental tune 'Gem' is catchy. Think 'Pavilion'. I think the chicken pickin' tune 'On the Way' is unremarkable.
Vocal Tunes: Honestly, I've always found Eric's lyrics a bit trite and obtuse. I felt the same about 'A Change Has Come to Me', 'Brilliant Room', 'Your Book', and 'Arithmetic' at first as well. The fantastic phrasing between lines, Hendrixy tone, and catchy melody on '...Change' finally won me over. 'Brilliant Room' has some great leads. 'Arithmetic' has a good message and probably has some deep meaning for Eric, and I appreciate it from that level. The brief intro to 'Arithmetic' is wonderful and reminds me of a more complex version of the intro to 'Take My Hand' by Toto (credits from the movie Dune).
All said, I like this album better than 'Bloom' and think it's on par with 'Venus Isle'. I'd give it a 4.5 if I could, but will round up to 5 since I've been an EJ fan for many years.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love this album
great composition and guitar work. Just when I was getting depressed at the quality of music produced these day I run across something like this and it restores my faith that real... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Kyle Johnson
4.0 out of 5 stars
Eric Johnson Up close
Eric Johnson's playing cannot be beat. Therre are a couple of throw away songs here, but for the most part the album is immaculate.
Published 3 months ago by Susan Revella
4.0 out of 5 stars
Calm Down People - 4.5 Stars
I have reviewed all of EJ's albums and I also read most of the reviews. I notice that some people get pretty emotional about it and don't seem to take any criticism of EJ very... Read more
Published 4 months ago by M. Hughes
5.0 out of 5 stars
Up Close a different look
Up Close (for Eric) is a different kind of CD. The production and musicianship is incredible, and Eric plays at the highest level. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Mister Freeze
5.0 out of 5 stars
Up Close by Eric Johnson
Songs of Eric Johnson are always great to me. My favorite song is "On The Way." As a fan, his songs have never disappointed me.
Published 11 months ago by Zaw
3.0 out of 5 stars
ho-hum
No one can deny that Eric Johnson has a very recognizable sound and is a very gifted player....but i have to say that i think his sound has played itself out for alot of... Read more
Published 13 months ago by s. hensley
5.0 out of 5 stars
Home Run!
Eric Johnson's latest effort is awesome! It's hard to rate which is his best because they are all good, and "Up Close" continues that trend. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mitzdawg
5.0 out of 5 stars
Always something uniquely beautiful in his music.
His technical knowledge of the instrument and gear, coupled with his musical abilities and deep knowledge of music theory is well known, undisputed, respected, and often the main... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Michael E Cantrall
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very nice EJ!
If you love EJ, but feel that some of his stuff is too highly processed at times, check out Up Close. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Joseph G. Mansueto
4.0 out of 5 stars
Eric, please stop singing
Every song that Eric does not sing on is great. His singing just sounds gentle and silly compared to his amazing talent as a guitar player. Read more
Published 18 months ago by KS
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