Oftentimes, I complain how terrible most of today’s music is and how true craftsmanship seems to be a matter of the past. Modern technology makes it possible that artists no longer need to know how to play an instrument; heck, they can even get away with mediocre vocals, since you can pretty much correct anything with computers. But what I really mean is the majority of music dominating today’s charts. However, as I’ve realized time and again, fortunately, there is more to the picture.
Good music is still out there, but since it is largely gone from the mainstream, it is harder to find. A great example is John (Johnny) Hathaway, a singer-songwriter from Asbury Park, N.J. I met John last September at Colts Neck Rockfest in Colts Neck, N.J., where he was performing with his excellent Neil Young tribute band Decade. I dig Young, so we started chatting about Neil and John’s band. I’ve since been to various other of their gigs. But it was only recently that I realized John is also writing his own music and released his debut album Deep Cuts And Bruises in April 2016.
Recently, I went to a solo performance by John at The Acoustic Singer-Songwriter Series, a live performance series by a rotating lineup of New Jersey singer/songwriters and acoustic musicians, organized by Rick Barth, another Jersey singer-songwriter. Rick is a great guy. His singer-songwriter series is a nice opportunity for up- and coming artists to perform their music in a nice, relaxed and relatively low pressure atmosphere. He also has an album out, which I’m planning to review separately.
John told me since he didn’t have a band at the time, he pretty much produced Deep Cuts And Bruises by himself at home with a 24-track machine. Except for drums and percussion, which were played by Ken Biedzynski, and lap steel guitar on one track by Mike Flynn, John played all of the instruments himself, including acoustic and electric guitars, bass, mandolin and harmonica. There are also various guest vocalists. Given that only the mastering was done at a professional studio, the sound is great; frankly, if you didn’t know, you’d never guess you’re essentially listening to a home-produced record. Time to get to some music!
Here is the album’s opener Release Me, a nice rocker with a catchy chorus.
Another rock-oriented song and one of my favorite tunes on the album is Ride Along. I really like the guitar sound on this track, which also has a strong chorus.
Two Days From Tucson is one of the acoustic tracks on the record. It has a nice, relaxed, rootsy and country vibe to it. Backing vocals are provided by Pam McCoy.
Another acoustic standout is Real Men. The singing is beautiful, featuring alternating lead vocals between John and Linda King, who also provides backing vocals. Flynn sets nice pedal steel guitar accents.
From Deep Within is a mid-tempo melodic rock-oriented tune. In particular, I like the harmony guitar parts that are reminiscent of Boston – and it’s safe to assume all of it done without the sound technology of wizard Tom Scholz!
The last tune I’d like to highlight is the title track, another gem on the record. This song has great dynamic, with a grungy main section nicely framed by a low start and end with mandolin.
Other guest vocalists on Deep Cuts And Bruises include Lisa Barone, Wendy Horn, Laura Catalina Johnson and Sandra Huth. The album was mastered by Dave Florio at Sound Cave Studios in Sayreville, N.J. The record is available on Spotify.
While John hasn’t started work on another album, he told me he has about 60 songs, which sounds like a good quantity to me. I’m pretty sure we’ll hear more recorded music from him at some point.
Sources: John Hathaway Facebook page, YouTube
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