They pined for Hank’s veracity. Awaited with bated breath Dylan’s prose. Just so, modern fans of songwriting have been anxiously posing the question, when is Jamey Johnson going to give us new music? Fear not, for I bring tidings of great joy.
Jamey gave a call to RollingStone Country last week from his office in the historical RCA building on music row to discuss his latest release, “The Christmas song”. Yep, a five track holiday EP featuring “Baby It’s Cold Outside” with Lily Meola, “Mele Kalikimaka” with the Secret Sisters, “Pretty Paper”, “The Christmas Song”, and “South Alabam Christmas”, Johnson’s first novel musical composition since 2010’s album, Guitar Song.
If you are thinking holiday music is a tad out of character for the solemn singer whose lyrics tend to border a bit more on the morose than festive, you may not be alone. Yet, I contend that it takes someone willing and able to open their life up and exude such primal sincerity of pain and sorrow to truly express the magnitude of candid emotion deserving of such a joyous celebration. A man who has been saved will appreciate salvation more than a man who has never fallen.
But alas, the good news does not stop there. With the launch of his nascent independent record label, Big Gassed Records, Jamey promises new music releases starting as early as the new year. Johnson had this to tell RollingStone regarding the label, “I feel like I’ve worn out my welcome over there[Mercury Records]… might’ve stayed a little longer than I anticipated. But this is gonna be fun. It’s gonna be a lot of work, but it’s gonna be fun work.”
The venerable songwriter goes on to explain how heading his own label frees him from the time restraints associated with major label recordings. The ability to release material quickly is not only a creative victory for the artist but imperative in today’s world of constant fleeting content.
Jamey’s vision goes farther than his own work. Big Gassed Records is to be a platform for which Johnson hopes to not only break his creative respite, but showcase talent he feels has been glossed over or denied opportunity. If you guys are as excited as I am about this I suggest you head over to itunes or JameyJohnson.com and grab a copy of “The Christmas Song” EP, post haste. If you combine it with Alan Jackson’s and Kenny Chesney’s recent holiday releases you cover the whole south east from caribbean to bayou.
(RollingStone.com)
