Singer-songwriter Freedy Johnston was a major force in the nineties but has remained in relative obscurity since. Back on the Road to You is Johnson’s first release since 2015 and his ninth overall. Johnston has always had an easy-on-the-ear voice and a natural ability to create infectious hooks and memorable songs. Like the best songwriters, he is a storyteller and a character sketcher. He’s also known to keep good company as evidenced by the cast he’s gathered for this effort, recorded in Joshua Tree, CA. Joining him for harmony vocals are Aimee Mann, Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles, and long-time collaborator Susan Cowsill.
Johnson has tapped a cadre of the most important musicians in the L.A. Americana scene over the past three decades, beginning with the rhythm tandem of a group that this writer saw often in L.A. in the first decade of this millennium, bassist Dusty Wakeman and drummer David Raven of The Sin City All-Stars. The two have also worked as sidemen for major artists, Wakeman most notably with Jim Lauderdale and Raven with Shelby Lynne. The guitarist, Doug Pettibone, was a longtime member of Lucinda Williams’ band. In addition, Sasha Smith is on keys, Wally Ingram on percussion for one track, and Stevie Blacke on string arrangements for two. Released on Eric Corne’s 40 Below Records, this could be a chance for Johnston to regain lost momentum.
It’s comforting to learn that Johnston hasn’t lost his quirky sense of humor as depicted in “Madeleine’s Eye” where he oddly ruminates on loving an automated girlfriend – “Looking in Madeleine’s eye, I see her settings are off by a mile.” While the album plays casually, brightly, poppy, and rootsy, there’s a healthy mix of uplift and sadness in the lyrics. He’s bidding farewell to the elusive hip girl in the standout “There Goes a Brooklyn Girl” and his attempts to reassure in “Darlin’,” despite Mann’s lush harmonies, fall short, leaving a sad trail – “He’s gone and it’s not your fault, he could not live because he could not stop.”
The driving “Tryin’ to Move On” perfectly captures the feeling of restlessness as Pettibone’s jangling guitar motors along and Johnson layers in his own harmony vocals to further accent the urgency. “The Power of Love” brings full-on power pop, with Cowsill’s assist and Pettibone’s electric and lap steel. “Somewhere Love” is lighter with Smith’s keys tinkling and Blacke’s Beatles-esque string arrangement. The band and supporting musicians never overplay, truly remaining in service to the song. It comes across as unassuming, beautifully framing Johnston’s melodies. “That’s Life,” with Hoffs is a fitting example. The string arrangement, and Smith’s organ on the soaring “Trick of The Light” help to shape a tune that reminds of those great pop radio hits (remember those) from likes of The Monkees or the Mamas and Papas. Similarly, the closing, “The I Really Miss Ya Blues,” echoes a past era, with strains of the Byrds and just a touch of Jackson Browne.
When Johnston sings to his friend, “I’m back on the road to you” in the opener, we can’t help but share in his glee. One of the best songwriters of his generation hasn’t lost a lick.
