FREEDY JOHNSTON
Live at 33 1/3 (Singing Magnet)
Reviewed by David J. Klug

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Fans of Freedy Johnston will cherish this record, and not just because it's a limited edition live album available exclusively at Johnston's web site and live gigs. For those unfamiliar with his work this is a fine starting place (highly unusual for a live record). Johnston debuted in 1990 with The Trouble Tree and followed it with one of the finest singer/songwriter moments of the '90s, the epic Can You Fly (both on Bar/None). He's since released three full- lengths on Elektra in addition to an EP on Bar/None, all to heaps of critical praise. The idea behind Live At 33 1/3 was a gutsy one at least: cut Johnston live in the studio with an audience. Producer Eric "Roscoe" Ambel (Nils Lofgren, The Bottle Rockets, Go To Blazes, Cheri Knight, to name a few) helped assemble a small audience of friends and acquaintances for one Friday night at 33 1/3 Studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Johnston entered the studio with only longtime sideman Cameron Greider to accompany him on guitar and backing vocals. Ambel yelled "action." While that's more the romanticized version of the event, Ambel did record it with an audience live in the studio with a reel tape machine. Instead of wearing headphones he had the room open with Johnston singing and Greider playing through a public address system.

The spare and intimate setting results in a captivating record of gentle tempos and soft melodies. Johnston's melancholic vocal delivery is often soothing and always ripe with emotion. This is captured to full effect on Live At 33 1/3, with a set list that includes some of Johnston's best material: "The Mortician's Daughter," "The Lucky One," and "Dolores" (she's "Delores" on 1994's This Perfect World's studio version), as well as remarkable cover versions of "Night And Day," "Bus Stop" and "Wichita Lineman." Like any excellent concert, Live At 33 1/3 ends too soon. And it barely matters that it barely rocks. www.freedyjohnston.com

© 2000 - David J. Klug