Eric JOHNSON

Souvenir

(2002)

1. Get To Go 4'47
(Eric Johnson)
This tune was begun several years ago, at home, just for fun, on a 4-track cassette deck. I played an old 1930's National metal body guitar, overdubbed a little piano, and then put the lead vocal down with a really funky mic! Sort of making the lyrics up as I went along, the basic idea is that life is too short to stay down, that we need to go for it. Recently, I asked Tommy Taylor (drums) and Kyle Brock (bass) to come into the studio to play on this song. We transferred that cassette tape (hard to believe!) to studio multi-track, and Tommy, Kyle and I recorded live, over the tape. I added more guitars after that, and some background vocals. I used an old and tiny amplifier from the fifties to get a different guitar sound. It was the first time that we had played together in a long time, and it was fun. We also cut another tune together that will be on the next studio record.
2. Space Of Clouds 2'49
(Eric Johnson)
This dang piece was actually a jam that was recorded at the same time that we did 'Paperback Writer', track 3. It features Tommy on drums and Reggie Witty on bass. We were just playing and having fun before recording the song 'Paperback Writer'. When putting this CD together, I added a synthesizer track to it. I got my own version of Pink Floyd together! (Will this song ever be a number one hit?)
3. Paperback Writer 4'06
(John Lennon / Paul McCartney )
This is a song that I've always loved. I really dig George Harrison's guitar part and the tone that he used playing it. Tommy, Reggie and I used to perform this song guite regularly when we were touring together. Reggie and Tommy made it possible to do because of their great vocal harmonies, as well as playing drums and bass. This was cut in the late eighties. The non-flanged lead guitar at the end was added recently.
й1966 SONY / ATV (BMI)
4. Forever Yours 4'13
(Eric Johnson)
5. Hard Times Requiem For The Astronauts 3'01
(Eric Johnson)
6. Climbing From Inside 3'32
(Eric Johnson)
In the early nineties, I was asked to submit a song for a movie that was being made. I met with the producer in Los Angeles and went back to Austin to write this tune. A somewhat spontaneous composition, the result is what you hear on this track. The movie was never made so the tune has been in my tape vault. It was remixed, but otherwise remains as it was when it was recorded. I played acoustic guitar, overdubbed a little electric guitar, and sang the vocal.
7. I'm Finding You 4'25
(Eric Johnson)
I first met Rob Alexander in 1981 and was impressed not only with his bass-playing, but also with his fine vocal style. In 1982, we put a group together called The Avenue. It featured Rob on bass and vocals and Steve Meador on drums. This track was one of the first taping sessions that Rob and I did together. In addition to playing bass on this track, his voice is featured on lead vocal. I played acoustic guitars and overdubbed electric guitar in the middle of the song. I had just written the song when we recorded it on my four track reel-to-reel deck. This is the original recording that you hear now. It was later performed on our first Austin City Limits show in 1984.1 never re-recorded this song in a professional manner, even though I have always liked this song and what Rob brings to it.
8. Paladin 3'09
(Eric Johnson)
9. Fanfare One 1'58
(Eric Johnson)
I think that this track is the oldest piece on the record, dating to 1973.1 was just having fun with my newly acquired 4-track recorder (quite a big deal for me at the time!). My dad had some old reel-to-reel medical journal lectures that gave me lots of tape to experiment with. You can still hear a bit of the lecture, played backwards on this piece. The rest of it was done with electric guitars using feedback and distortion.
10. Virginia 4'12
(Eric Johnson)
11. A Memory I Have 2'48
(Eric Johnson)
12. Dusty 1'23
(Eric Johnson)
This is another one of the oldest songs on the record and is perhaps the first song of the first set of the first gig I ever played as a solo artist. I was contracted to do a show at Symphony Sguare, in Austin, Texas. Recorded in 1976, it is merely a tape made from the console at the venue. I went on to do several shows there in the summers that followed. This is the first one. Although this version was never intended to be used professionally, we included it because Richard thought that it was interesting and if you listen closely, you can hear birds chirping in the background during that sunset performance.

Total Time: 40:23

  • Eric Johnson - Guitars, Vocals
  • Steve Barber - Synth (5, 7, 10)
  • Rob Alexander - Bass (7)
  • Reggie Witty - Bass (2, 3, 5, 10), Harmony Vocals (5)
  • Kyle Brock - Bass (1)
  • Tommy Taylor - Drums
  • Larry Crooks - Percussion (8)

    Produced by Eric Johnson
    Tracks 2, 3, 6 and 11 Engineered and mixed by Richard Mullen
    Tracks 5 and 10 Engineered by Dave Parks and mixed by Richard Mullen.
    Track 1 Engineered by Richard Mullen and Eric Johnson, and mixed by Richard Mullen.
    Tracks 4,7, 8 and 9 Engineered by Eric Johnson and mixed by Richard Mullen.
    Managed by Joe Priesnitz Artist Management
    P.O. Box 5249, Austin, Texas 78763 USA
    Sea turtle photo by Leslie Keltner.
    Early photos of Eric by Mary Beth Greenwood.
    Design, illustration and current photos of Eric by Max Crace, www.maxcrace.com

    Track 12 Recorded by Jay Aaron. Mastered by Jim Wilson at     YES MASTERING

    A warm hello and greetings to everyone. Recently, I've been thinking about creating an additional vehicle for my music and the thought came up of having occasional internet releases. They would be issued as an interim series between regular studio releases. It seemed to me that the character of each record could encompass everything from live recordings to interesting jams, or any manner of obscure sonic pursuit. The guestion then became, "With what music should I start?" In my tape vault I had a number of songs, as well as live tapes and work sketches, that have been building up over the years of my career. Many are things that are of a demo nature or incomplete ideas. Nevertheless, a few of them are personally interesting to me. This CD is a result of a collection of pieces from over the last twenty-five years. They have been in my tape closet; scratch tracks, work tapes, demos, and other versions of unfinished pieces. Some have been left entirely as they were, some have been remixed. Others were finished that were not complete. I hope that you will enjoy perusing this timeline of recordings. It has given me an opportunity to reflect as well as to initiate this concept of interim projects between regular releases. This record, though never intended to be a standard release, offers an opportunity for the listener to hear between the notes and to read between the words. I find that in all its humble aspects, there are some fun and interesting moments presented in these recordings. Some of this music is special to me for sentimental reasons. There are many memories and good times associated with them. These songs are personal souvenirs and I am glad to be able to share them with you.

    That's all for now. I hope that you enjoy the CD. Best and fond wishes to you all.

    Thanks:

    I have been fortunate to have friends and family that help, support and inspire me. I thank my mother and father for this gift of showing me how to love music. Over the years, I'd like to thank Billy Maddox, Joe Priesnitz, Jean Kelton, David Dennard for showing me how to play lap steel, and Vince Mariani and Jay Aaron for their input.
    Thanks Especially To my wife Anne, for her tremendous help in putting this CD together.
    To Park, Kowecha, and Elista Street for their continued help.
    To Paula Beard and Darrin Ezell at VirtualKeeper.com.
    To Max Crace, Ginger Mackenzie, Susan Griswold, Jim Wilson, Gemma Cochran, Zack Berry, Bill Ussery, and Mary Beth Greenwood.
    Also thanks to Tom Neville and his staff at Bank One Austin; Diane Gershuny, Bill Cummiskey, Alex Perez and all at Fender Musical Instruments, Dave Cowles and everyone at GHS Strings, Paul Van Name and all at Gibson/Trace Elliot, Ted Berger and all at Marshall/Korg, Dick Boak and all at Martin Guitars, Tim Godwin and all at Line 6, Strait Music, Ed Reynolds, and Bill Webb.
    A big thanks to the musicians-
    Tommy, Reggie, Kyle, Steve, Rob, Larry and Richard for helping make this CD possible.
    Tommy Taylor would like to thank: Dave Babyn and Jim Sansom at Rimshot Drumsticks in Toronto, the finest drumsticks in the world! I simply couldn't do it without you! Tommy and Stacy Robertson and John Cummings at Fibes Drum Company.
    Bobby Booz, Dan Barker, Peter Stairs and everyone at SABIAN Cymbals.
    Todd Trent and Jim Catalano at Ludwig.
    Special Thanks To Troy Burnett and Ryan Lyndsay for the inspiration.

    http://www.ericjohnson.com

    Through the course of one's career there are many recordings that for one reason or another don't get used for release. It is just part of the creative process. There either isn't room, or seguencing isn't effective, or conceptually they don't add up in the final picture of what an album is about. I must admit that when I first learned of the plans for this album I was slightly skeptical. I hadn't revisited many of those recordings in years...did they have merit, did they hold up? When I first spoke with Eric about it he was already midstream in the production and he offered me a rough master to check out. I have to be really honest with everyone... I was blown away! I called him after spinning it in the car a couple of times and said, "Man this is just fantastic!" The album really fell together very nicely even though the tracks were recorded at various periods and in various recording situations. The energy is very high! Many of these pieces were originally worked up by just Eric and myself when we were between bass players. A good bit of it comes from the period when we were working with Reggie Witty, a super player and singer. With the exception of the reprise on Nothing (an Keep Me From You from Ah Via Musicom, there were no releases from Eric with Reggie on them prior to this. It was a very free time and I think that shows in these recordings. They are unhampered by the pressures of success and the need to be anything. We were just hungry and trying to get out there in those days. We also get a very intimate look into the young Eric on the acoustic pieces toward the end, something you very rarely have the opportunity to do unless you are "in the family." Even after knowing him for 32 years and playing with him for nearly 10 years I had never heard these recordings... they totally took me back! Brilliant! When I listened down to the rough, there was one piece that, in my opinion was bringing the record down and I hesitantly mentioned it to Eric. He agreed, but said that there really wasn't anything else that fit with this particular grouping... then he said, "I have this one thing I recorded at home,... would you want to work on it maybe?" i said, "Sure let's hear it." Get to Go was the result of that. We played live together, just he and I, like we used to, working with the existing track. It went really well and we were getting something that we were guite happy with... then we needed bass. We decided to ring up Kyle. He came in the next day and we all played the tune with the existing track. This is the first new recording with the three of us together in nearly 10 years. It was a gas. This album is a fresh look into the windows of days gone by, a chance to see things that we might have missed... something we rarely have the opportunity to do in life. I'll bet it becomes a favorite among all of the fans.
    - Tommy Taylor - October 2002



    1. Get To Go

      You don't need nobody, knock on your door You don't need nobody, knock on your door Ifthey'rea mean mistreater
      What good are they for?
      You don't need nobody to push you down You don't need nobody to push you down In a cruel, cruel world Find better ground Let's go
      In a time where I stop and ask myself
      If I'm out just out of my mind
      Cause I'm wondering why we don't choose love to get high?
      And I think you should know the chance is there
      Cause it's all just all in my mind
      And then everyone from everywhere could know
      And get to go
      Let's go
      Don't need no reason to say I told you so
      Don't need no reason to say I told you so
      Cause we all fall down
      Let's get to go
      In a time when I stop and ask myself
      If I'm out I'm out of my mind
      Cause I'm wondering why we can't use love to get high?
      And I think you should know the answer's here
      It's all it's all in my mind
      And the people from over all this world could know
      Let's get to go

    2. Space Of Clouds

      (instrumental)

    3. Paperback Writer

      Dear Sir or Madam, will you read my book? It took me years to write, will you take a look? Based on a novel by a man named Lear And I need a job, so I want to be a paperback writer, Paperback writer
      It's the dirty story of a dirty man
      And his clinging wife doesn't understand
      His son is working for the Daily Mail,
      It's a steady job but he wants to be a paperback writer,
      Paperback writer
      It's a thousand pages, give or take a few,
      I'll be writing more in a week or two
      I can make it longer if you like the style,
      I can change it round and I want to be a paperback writer,
      Paperback writer
      If you really like it you can have the rights,
      It could make a million for you overnight
      If you must return it, you can send it here
      But I need a break and I want to be a paperback writer,
      Paperback writer

    4. Forever Yours

      Through the endless sea, pouring waves thunder a symphony So I think of you, in my heart you know you'll always be Wait that I might I'll be praying for your precious love In my life, there won't be another I think of Because I know I will always stay forever yours
      Thru the highland mist to the magic strings of harmony
      There two lovers meet, secretly unfold their majesty
      Oh yeah, wait that I might, I'll be praying for your precious love
      In my life, there will be no other I think of
      Cause I know, I will always stay forever yours
      Oh I dream of you
      And all my troubles chase into the wind
      I send my love to you, I send my love to my forever friend
      And wait that I might, I am praying for your precious love
      In my life, there will be no other I think of
      Cause I know I will always stay forever yours...

    5. Hard Times

      I've grown tired of the city Need to get away sometimes I like the big bright lights But there she's on my mind
      I go down to George's farm To rest my weary soul Out in the big wide country Where I want to go
      Tell your mama and your papa
      I've been falling down
      And tell your brother and your sisters
      I've done hit the ground Without your sweet sweet love Hard times I've done found...
      Tell your mama and your papa I've been falling down Tell your brother and your sister I've done hit the ground Without your sweet sweet love Hard times I've done found

    6. Climbing From Inside

      There's danger when you dig
      Deep into emotion, think I've dug too far
      And I can't turn back now
      Strange kinds of feeling, climbing from inside
      Is this what's called love, and why is it I hide?
      All before my life, I've been shoved around So I curse this scene around me Need to bring that fence on down I want a ticket out to a new world It's a world with you. We'll celebrate our love
      The two of us share something big and new
      Cause you got to me, now I'm gonna get to you
      It's restless how I'm feeling
      Sure can't call this home
      I've got crazy indecision and it makes me want to roam
      Underneath my skin, clouds are rolling through
      This is scary stormy weather, it'd be a big rain without you
      Climbing from inside
      Oh you're on my mind

    7. I'm Finding You

      Highways stretch into the night One way leading to your light Sooner or later don't you know Sooner or later I'm finding you Oh I'm finding you
      What am I supposed to do right now? Till I'm finding you...
      You've got mystery inside
      For this silhouette of mine
      Soon when I find you, I will see
      Yes, when I find you, waiting for me.
      Oh I'm finding you
      What am I supposed to do right now?
      Till I'm finding you...
      Highway stretch into the night One way leading to your light Sooner or later, don't you know Sooner or later, I'm finding you Oh I'm finding you Now I know what I will do right now I'll be finding you
      Sooner or later, don't you know Sooner or later, I will find you

    8. Paladin

      (instrumental)

    9. Fanfare One

      (instrumental)

    10. Virginia

      One thing I'll say
      I will always love you, Virginia
      You're a part of my life and you make everything so worthwhile
      The thing about it
      When I need a friend she's always there
      And she lifts up my day
      One thing I'll say
      I'll always love you, Virginia
      We're going down the boulevard and burning down the avenue
      Yes, going down the boulevard, we're burning down the avenue
      Virginia, always on my mind
      Virginia, stay a friend of mine
      The thing about it, when I'm sad, she brings me a note or two
      So I say this to you
      The one thing I know, I will always love you, Virginia
      She takes me up to a place that's so far away
      Virginia, always on my mind
      Virginia, stay a friend of mine
      Thing about it, when I need a friend she's always there
      And I say this to you
      One thing I know, I will always love you, Virginia
      She takes me up to a place that's so far away
      And the whole world keeps turnin'

    11. Su

      (instrumental)

    12. Su

      (instrumental)