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Folk, singer-songwriter.

Twenty albums deep would solidify the fact that Hudson Valley-born folk singer Michael Johnathon has a loyal following. With the first strains of his latest accomplishment, the acoustic guitars chime confidently & the mature songwriting is original & has lots of sustenance.

Both opening songs are beautiful. “Garden of Silence,” (about the day Van Gogh passed away), followed by “Hurricane,” are in the style of Gordon Lightfoot crossed with Don McLean rather than Phil Ochs. They’re primarily light airy melodies woven into delicate arrangements that border on easy listening & songs that could’ve been written in an earlier era. But these are not oldies.

“September Eve” has that simplicity of melody that pop songwriters of the 50s managed to chart every week with. Michael has a pleasant folky vocal that would be suitable for children as well as adults. He’s another Michael Franks stirred in with Michael Martin Murphey mixed with Kenny Rankin. Is that even possible? And 
it’s miraculous because he’s convincing.

Produced, written & arranged by Mr. Johnathon (Martin 000-28s guitar/Deering/VEGA long neck banjo/Franzke mandolin/Hammond B3/percussion). The 11-cut CD Garden of Silence (Drops March 24– PoetMan Records) has songs that comprise a 31-minute relaxing journey, enjoyable & compared to what passes for popular music today – its individuality is modern. How can that be? One listen to “Front Porch Symphony,” would describe my curious confusion.

There’s a generous dip into the late English folk singer Clifford T. Ward’s (“Gaye,” “Wherewithal”) & David McWilliams’s (“Marlena”) elements. Original melodies emerge in your ears that you believe you’ve heard before since they have a nostalgic sweetness that your memory finds whimsical. Of simpler times, of good living in fairy tale towns & sunny days. Silly? Yeah. But isn’t that glorious?

There isn’t a negative word in any song. It’s all dug from the soil of good memories & happier times. Quite remarkable. You listen to this music & you come away with a satisfied feeling that you may not have had before.

More mainstream is “The Farewell,” which is immersed in a delightful showcase. “Folksinger,” is an excellent coda with its gentle Nil Lara-type Euro-folk melody with a dash of James McMurtry richness. This is a collection of graceful, precise & clever tunes. 

There’s just one non-original, a tribute to his old neighbour and the man who got him into folk music, Pete Seeger, with the simple fingerpicked ‘Seeger Mashup’, an intertwining of ‘Sailing Down That Golden River’ and ‘Where Have All The Flowers Gone?’ with Melissa Deaton-Johnathon on backing vocals. Musically and vocally evocative of the early Don McLean, he’s always an engaging, soothing listen. On the closing number he sings “I just want to share my song/And let the whole world hear/That’s what every folksinger wants to share”. And so you should.

Classy stuff.


Tracks:
01. Garden of Silence
02. Hurricane
03. September Eve
04. Prodigal Son
05. Front Porch Symphony
06. Winter Song
07. Petrichor
08. Narcissistic Blues
09. The Farewell
10. Seeger Mashup
11. Folksinger

Staat er compleet op, 10% pars mee gepost. Met zeer veel dank aan de originele poster. Laat af en toe eens weten wat je van het album vindt. Altijd leuk, de mening van anderen. Oh ja, MP3 doe ik niet aan.

Het hele album:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lXMVXZhekAux3rX5c5MjFijyyK7fP7zM4