If you're looking for a polished album with a high production value, this is definitely not the album for you. However, if a cassette recording of a guy singing his heart out while pounding away on a chord organ is appealing to you, then you're in luck. Yip/Jump Music to me is the definitive albums of Daniel Johnston's career.
Sprinkled with such classics as "Speeding Motorcycle", "Casper the Friendly Ghost", "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Your Grievences" and "King Kong", to name a few, this 1983 recording is absolutely both painful and terrific. I'm hooked every time I hear the opening line of the brilliant first track, "Chord Organ Blues". "Everything's big in Texas, you know it is!!!"
Is Daniel Johnston for everyone? No, admittedly he is not. Some don't like his low budget and often out of key songs, chock full of errors and background noises. But what he lacks in production value and polish, he more than makes up for in authenticity and humanness. When you hear him singing about his woes, you feel as if you're in the room with him being a good friend and letting him vent about his heartbreaks. And his openness is comforting in a way. He puts it all on the line and I can't help but truly respect him for allowing himself to be so open and vulnerable. He's not making music to make money, he's making music because he needs to. His soul is crying to vent and the music is his best outlet (though he does draw too).
I hope you can join me on Wed, Nov 12, for "Album Night" featuring Yip/Jump Music, so you too can be drawn in by Daniel and his "Chord Organ Blues"!
Sprinkled with such classics as "Speeding Motorcycle", "Casper the Friendly Ghost", "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Your Grievences" and "King Kong", to name a few, this 1983 recording is absolutely both painful and terrific. I'm hooked every time I hear the opening line of the brilliant first track, "Chord Organ Blues". "Everything's big in Texas, you know it is!!!"
Is Daniel Johnston for everyone? No, admittedly he is not. Some don't like his low budget and often out of key songs, chock full of errors and background noises. But what he lacks in production value and polish, he more than makes up for in authenticity and humanness. When you hear him singing about his woes, you feel as if you're in the room with him being a good friend and letting him vent about his heartbreaks. And his openness is comforting in a way. He puts it all on the line and I can't help but truly respect him for allowing himself to be so open and vulnerable. He's not making music to make money, he's making music because he needs to. His soul is crying to vent and the music is his best outlet (though he does draw too).
I hope you can join me on Wed, Nov 12, for "Album Night" featuring Yip/Jump Music, so you too can be drawn in by Daniel and his "Chord Organ Blues"!