Not many artists dare to cover The Allman Brothers Band’s complex instrumental rocker “Jessica.” Perhaps it’s the dare of nailing Chuck Leavell’s ravaging piano solo or the twin drum attack of Jaimoe and Butch Trucks, or Dicky Betts’ soaring guitar leads.
Well, if you don’t try to imitate your heroes and instead put your own artistic spin on a classic, the results are more rewarding for the artist and judgmental listener. Take Jacob Johnson, who gives “Jessica” a meditative and graceful acoustic guitar run featuring harmonica legend Mickey Raphael (Willie Nelson) giving his own bluesy licks. The Greenville, SC artist also enlisted Marcus King Band’s rhythm section, Jack Ryan on drums and Stephen Campbell on bass, to join up and build the foundation.
“Of course, this entire project was created with lots of love and respect for its composer, the great Dickey Betts, who we lost not long after production was completed. If you know Southern music, you know he was one of the greats. Though I never had the opportunity to meet the man, I hope that my arrangement and attention to the details of this composition can honor his legacy in some small way,” says Johnson.
Johnson’s fourth album, Surviving The Dream, is out Friday, October 11th. It is his first since his critically acclaimed opus, One-Take Jake. The album takes flight upon Johnson’s fleeting fingers and compositional excellence, which recalls the work of Tommy Emmanuel and bluegrass greats like Tony Rice. Like “Jessica,” there is an emotional movement of songs that echo folk, modern bluegrass, and Dire Straits’ sounding extended rock on the Willie Nelson cover “Still is Still Moving to Me.”
Beyond his guitar prowess, Johnson has proven himself a talented songwriter, garnering recognition as the Don Gibson Songwriter Award Grand Prize Winner, Nashville Connection ‘Songwriter of the Year,’ and a Finalist for the Freshgrass No Depression Songwriter Award. His ability to craft captivating and heartfelt songs has earned him performances at prestigious music festivals such as the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in New York, the Walnut Valley Festival in Kansas, the Wildflower Music Festival in Texas, Fall on Greenville and countless others.
During his nearly 20-year touring career, Johnson had the privilege of sharing the stage with Grammy winners like Tommy Emmanuel, Paula Cole, Zac Brown Band, and Victor Wooten, as well as esteemed musicians Frank Vignola, Edwin McCain, David Wilcox, Tim Reynolds, Darryl Worley, and many more.
Johnson has graciously shared with Glide a track-by-track narrative and the premiere of Surviving the Dream. Let’s get a day ahead of release day and spin this one in full.
1. The Sketchiest Motel in Fayetteville
(Johnson/Norwood)
Vocals/Guitars: Jacob Johnson
Drums: Shane Nelson
Electric Bass: Mark Eshenbaugh
Upright Bass: Wayne Mason
Keyboards: Aaron Bowen
“A hymn to those dingy roadside lodges where the roaches are smaller than the staff, but not by much. Thanks to my friend for John Norwood for letting me co-write this with him.”
2. F. Scott Fitzgerald
(Johnson)
Vocals/Guitars: Jacob Johnson
Electric Bass: Mark Eshenbaugh
Upright Bass: Wayne Mason
Drums: John Henry
Keyboards: Aaron Bowen
Backup Vocals: Ella Hennessy, Gray Lee, Mark Eshenbaugh, Jacob Johnson
Accordion: Rory Hoffman
“F. Scott Fitzgerald is a song about being on the road with someone you love, in a car old enough to have an ashtray, listening to Jerry Reed and Kris Kristofferson through a cassette adapter.”
3. (Why Are You) So Far Away?
(Johnson)
Vocals/Guitars: Jacob Johnson
Electric Bass: Mark Eshenbaugh
Drums: John Henry
Keyboards: Aaron Bowen
Background Vocals: Gray Lee
“This is a simple, blues-tinged country song I wrote about someone I had to love from a distance.”
4. Old Soul
(Johnson)
Guitar: Jacob Johnson
“There are two big moments that happen when a musician is on the road. One of them is when you’re onstage, and there are all these smiling faces, and they’re cheering, and everybody loves you. The other is when you’re in the car, driving for days at a time, broke and hungry. And those moments are sometimes less than an hour apart. I think that’s what I was thinking about when I wrote this instrumental.I
5. Still is Still Moving to Me
(Willie Nelson)
Vocals/Guitars: Jacob Johnson
Drums: Shane Nelson
Electric Bass: Wayne Mason
Keyboards: Aaron Bowen
“This Willie Nelson-penned tune came from his 1993 album, Across The Borderline, produced by Don Was. I’ve been in love with this song since I was a kid, and I think it fits right into this collection of music about travel, movement, and distance.”
6. Jessica (feat. Mickey Raphael)
(Dickey Betts)
Guitars: Jacob Johnson
Harmonica: Mickey Raphael
Drums: Jack Ryan
Bass: Stephen Campbell
Keyboards: Aaron Bowen
“It’s an unwritten rule for musicians that if your darlin’ (that’s how we say “significant other” or “partner” in the south) is named after a famous song, you must learn the song, and you must use it to serenade them. Unfortunately, my wife was named after a 7-minute Allman Brothers jam. This track features a beautiful harmonica solo from Mickey Raphael of Willie Nelson and Family; as well as Marcus King’s groovy rhythm section, Jack Ryan and Stephen Campbell, on drums and bass respectively.”
7. Surviving The Dream
(Johnson)
Vocals/Guitars: Jacob Johnson
Drums: John Henry
Electric Bass: Mark Eshenbaugh
Accordion: Rory Hoffman
Backup Vocals: Mark Eshenbaugh, Gray Lee, Emily Landrum, Jacob Johnson
“We all have a calling to make the world a better and more beautiful place. That happens through our work, our art, our relationships, and a million other ways. I wrote this song to inspire myself and others not to give up on our calling, even when it’s dangerous or difficult.”
8. The Goodnight Chorus
(Johnson, Lee)
Vocals/Guitars: Jacob Johnson
Electric Bass: Mark Eshenbaugh
Upright Bass: Wayne Mason
Drums: John Henry
Keyboards: Aaron Bowen
Harmonica: Mickey Raphael
Accordion: Rory Hoffman
“I wrote this song with my friend Gray Lee as sort of a “closing down the bar”-type song. It’s served as sort of a benediction to my live concerts over the past few years, and I’m in love with how our arrangement came together for this album.”
Digital-only bonus tracks
9. The Sketchiest Motel in Fayetteville (live) https://youtu.be/ftgtZ4fxQhg
10. The Goodnight Chorus (live) https://youtu.be/v5DVVonDvBc
Album Credits
Produced by Jacob Johnson
Recorded by Shane Nelson at Asaph Studios
Ian Guthrie at Studio 101
Matt Morgan at Sit ‘N Spin Studios
Mike McCarthy in Jack Ryan’s Garage
Mixed by Shane Nelson
Mastered by Anna Frick
Photography by Sandlin Gaither
One Response
How do we get the album?