It's no secret that the time gap between albums by guitarist Eric Johnson is on par with such notorious 'hibernators' as Boston.
And the arrival of his fourth all-new studio release, Bloom, was no different, as it appeared nearly nine years after the release of 1996's Venus Isle.
Whereas most guitar heroes of the late '80s and early '90s were all about reeling off a zillion notes per second, Johnson was the exception, as he penned songs that saw his guitar supplying the melody where a voice could have been.
This 16-track release (his second for Steve Vai's Favored Nations label) is split into three separate sections -- 'Prelude,' 'Courante,' and 'Allemande' -- which are supposedly "grouped together in terms of vibe and style." Highlights include "Summer Jam" (which does a splendid job of showcasing his guitar tone), the chicken'-pickin' ditty "Tribute to Jerry Reed," and the almost Steely Dan-esque "Magnetized." If you like your sounds raw and gritty and music off-the-cuff, Bloom isn't the place for you.
But for die-hard fans, Johnson delivers once more, as all his trademarks are well represented -- chops, tone, and extremely fluid playing.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Summer Jam (Prelude)Eric Johnson | Eric Johnson | Play | 02:10 | 4 MB | 14 MB |
| 2 | Good to Me (Prelude)Eric Johnson | Eric Johnson | Play | 04:29 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 3 | Columbia (Prelude)Eric Johnson | Eric Johnson | Play | 02:21 | 5 MB | 16 MB |
| 4 | 12 to 12 Vibe (Prelude)Eric Johnson | Eric Johnson | Play | 02:21 | 5 MB | 16 MB |
| 5 | Sea Secret (Courante)Eric Johnson | Eric Johnson | Play | 01:57 | 4 MB | 8 MB |
| 6 | Cruise the Nile (Courante)Eric Johnson | Eric Johnson | Play | 02:13 | 5 MB | 13 MB |
| 7 | Tribute to Jerry Reed (Courante)Eric Johnson | Eric Johnson | Play | 02:27 | 5 MB | 16 MB |
| 8 | Your Sweet Eyes (Courante)Eric Johnson | Eric Johnson | Play | 06:07 | 14 MB | 41 MB |
| 9 | Hesitant (Allemande)Eric Johnson | Eric Johnson | Play | 06:27 | 14 MB | 35 MB |
| 10 | Sunnaround You (Allemande)Eric Johnson | Eric Johnson | Play | 03:06 | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| 11 | Magnetized (Allemande)Eric Johnson | Eric Johnson | Play | 03:20 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 12 | Ciel (Allemande)Eric Johnson | Eric Johnson | Play | 03:26 | 7 MB | 14 MB |
| 13 | Bloom - Www.Torrentazos.Com | Eric Johnson | Play | 03:09 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 14 | My Back Pages (Prelude).Com | Eric Johnson | Play | 03:47 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 47 mins | 108 MB | |||||
| 47 mins | 297 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve Barber | Main Personnel, Moog Synthesizer, Vocals |
| 2 | Steve Barber | Piano, Vocals |
| 3 | Roscoe Beck | Bass, Bass Instrument, Main Personnel |
| 4 | Tal Bergman | Drums, Engineer |
| 5 | Tom Brechtlein | Drums, Main Personnel |
| 6 | Tom Burritt | Main Personnel, Percussion |
| 7 | Shawn Colvin | Guest Artist, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 8 | Max Crace | Design, Photography |
| 9 | Annette Daniels | Artwork |
| 10 | Patrick Dillett | Mixing |
| 11 | Bob Dylan | Composer |
| 12 | Brad Evilsizer | Percussion |
| 13 | James Fenner | Main Personnel, Percussion |
| 14 | Rich Harney | Main Personnel, Piano |
| 15 | Richard "Hacksaw" Harney | Piano |
| 16 | Eric Johnson | Audio Production, Bass, Bass Instrument, Composer, Fender Rhodes, Guitar, Guitar (Classical), Lap Steel Guitar, Main Personnel, Percussion, Piano, Primary Artist, Producer, Sitar, Sitar (Electric), Synthesizer, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 17 | Thomas Johnson | Mixing Assistant |
| 18 | Jody Lazo | Main Personnel, Vocals |
| 19 | Jody Lazo | Vocals (Background) |
| 20 | Adrian Legg | Guest Artist, Guitar, Main Personnel, Soloist |
| 21 | Bill Maddox | Drum Loop, Drums, Engineer, Main Personnel, Percussion |
| 22 | Chris Maresh | Bass, Bass (Acoustic), Bass Instrument, Double Bass, Main Personnel |
| 23 | Richard Mullen | Drum Programming, Engineer, Mixing, Producer |
| 24 | UE Nastasi | Mastering |
| 25 | Gary Paczosa | Mixing |
| 26 | Tony Phillips | Bass Instrument, Drums, Main Personnel, Synthesizer |
| 27 | Salvatore Banzai La Rocca | Harp, Main Personnel |
| 28 | Steve Shaw | Artwork |
| 29 | Barry "Frosty" Smith | Drums, Main Personnel |
| 30 | Tommy Taylor | Drums, Main Personnel, Percussion |
| 31 | Lisa Tingle | Main Personnel, Vocals (Background) |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |