Customer Reviews

What Would You Do

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

 

 

I can't believe this album!
it is so good, as close to perfect as you could possibly hope for, it is intense and soothing at the same time, there are so many influences that are woven together seemlessly, lush and muddy, dense and airy...
I can't get it out of my cd player, well, I could, but I haven't wanted to listen to anything else since I got it two months ago.
Why don't you hear it on the radio?
I guess most dj's are deaf, or in some cave somewhere...
all I can say is thanks, Mike, I think you might have saved my life.

I am a HUGE fan of Mark Lanegan, and was told by a couple of my friends that I should check out Mike Johnson as well since he plays on all of Mark's records and even co-wrote some of the songs.
So, I bought "I feel alright" and was not disappointed, that is truly a great record. But "What Would You Do" is mind melting!
This is what I am always hoping that an album will be, but rarely is, a perfect, if somewhat somber, record.
There is even a cover of a Yabby Yu song on here that is, at least to this listener, superior to the original, and Yabby Yu is one of my all time favorite musicians.
The track "Things" is also a standout, although I would have to say that after listening to the album several times, "Names" is the best. The structure of this song is so perfect, the repeated theme along with the development really capture a moment in time that allows for endless, personal interpretation.

If Mike Johnson ever went to American Idol he would be booted off the stage.Instead of belting out songs he soothingly murmurs them I have a feeling if he could've whispered them for the whole cd he would have.What makes it work then is the band's somber music and Mike's voice dissolving off into the distance.Don't expect to find any catchy tunes here but the music casts a spell that's difficult to explain,I didn't like it at first but it subliminally creeps up on you after repeat listens.It's the musical equivalent of a warm breeze on a dark starless night.

I caught Mike Johnson on tour with Built To Spill, and it was literally the worst opening act I had ever seen in my life. And I have seen A LOT of opening bands. The room was at a sweltering 100 degrees, and tensions were already running high. Meandering, stream of conciousness jam rock is not what anyone wants to hear when its so hot you could cook an egg on your chest. And temprature aside, the music was literally gut wrenching. I joked to a guy next to me that this band had started 10 minutes before the show, and he said 'that explains it.' He thought I was serious. Oh how I wish it had been true. Did someone really put thought into this? He's joking right? My favorite song was the one that started 'been waiting so long', taking advantage of the most cliche and over used lyric in rock history. Then the song went into a ten minute jam of squeeling and manic strumming. Nobody bought it, including the band. His backing band consisted of Built To Spill's two guitar players, the lead player on bass, and a skinny nameless guy playing the drums. The bass playing was especially inept. Surprising, considering he played those great BTS leads so perfectly. The phrase 'bed pan' comes to mind. At one point, during one of Toms many vocal wanderings, I could have sworn I heard him, in a perfect monotone, say 'something something couch potato...' and I thought to myself, that would be a hell of a name for this band.

Couch Potato.