| Reviews for 'Mountain Rescue' and 'Local Honey' (the General Store's debut album.) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
For example, take “Desert Weathered Hiway”. The song starts with a weepy pedal steel (which is somewhat redundant) from Nick Zala, who can really play that thing, and then the light strumming guitar begins. The verses are simply homilies using driving as a metaphor for life. Johnstone’'s friendly voice is captivating. This all sets up a great chorus, which has a terrific melody and is augmented by more of that tasty pedal steel and gentle backing vocals. It takes an expert to build a hook like this. That song tilts more in The Eagles’ direction, a la “Peaceful Easy Feeling” and “Tequila Sunrise”. The Neil Young-ish tracks are a delight. “The Wonder” is a soulful piece of country pop, with Johnstone showing off a little more range than he does on some songs. The secret of the song is the simple soft-loud juxtaposition (i.e., dynamics), though it’'s really more of a contrast between the introspective verses and the stirring chorus. This is one hell of a love song. On “Come Around”, Johnstone seems to meld the two artists I’'ve referenced above. The verses are in line with “Heart Of Gold”, but the chorus rises with harmony vocals in a swell Laurel Canyon fashion. But if you want to hear some great harmonies,
skip over to “Girls From the Mall”. This is Johnstone’'s
splendid Beach Boys homage. It’'s not a 100 percent Brian Wilson
ripoff, but his inspiration is all over this track. This track also
shows off a biting wit, with Johnstone slyly commenting on the emptiness
of high school popularity, sung with an overly romantic enthusiasm
that is similar to the narrator in Jeffrey Eugenides’ novel
The Virgin Suicides. Pretty and pretty funny. All-in-all, this is
simply an extremely well-crafted effort that exudes warmth. It may
be even more impressive than the Store’'s outstanding debut." Most famous for leading electro-rockers Glass Shark, he now unleashes a completely different musical project. Those used to his new wave skinny tie crazed drumming and vocals for the Shark will be left open-mouthed by Mountain Rescue, the new album by his other band The General Store. This is a gorgeous, plaintive (listen to the steel guitars, those harmonies!) collection of songs that will take you from the South West of England to the West Coast of America. This is an album (it's already available on iTunes) in homage to some of Tam's favourite music - The Beach Boys (just listen to the frankly mind-altering beauty of the vocals on Girls From The Mall), Neil Young (Come Around could be some hidden gem from the After The Goldrush sessions) and Elton John (there is a definite nod to albums like Madman Across The Water). But make no mistake this is no tribute - Tam has fashioned a wonderful collection of original songs from the affecting (Mountain Side) to the rollocking (The Point - The Stranglers gone country, anyone?). Tam started recording the album with internationally-renowned Bodmin-based producer Paul Reeve (Muse, Supergrass, Beta Band) in 2003 - the delay of its release has largely been down to the burgeoning success of Glass Shark. Tam said: "The plan from the start was to make an album like they used to - on tape with natural performances and not too much jiggery pokery. Every sound was to pass through Airfield's Amek desk, previously owned by Pink Floyd. We were already off to a good start. "All the old studio tricks were deployed - Leslie speakers, tac pianos, harmoniums, vocal spreads. We really were trying to make a record that doffed a cap to those classic albums of the early 1970s." And, boy, has he succeeded. If you didn't know better you'd expect this to have been made by some new cool Ryan Adams-alike American wonder kid. Indeed Rolling Stone has already said of The General Store: "Very highly recommended" while Uncut has called Tam's songs "inspired". The influential Popmatters website labelled it "the best West Coast pop album in decades". The album, which was mastered in LA in 2005,
also features a host of impressive guest musicians including songwriter
Mike Silver, pedal steel player Nick Zala (Mojave 3) and guitarist
Jo Partridge (The Who, Steve Harley). So if you're a fan of the naïve
yet otherworldly sounds of those early 70s guys, the spectral sounds
of Super Furry Animals and the Flaming Lips or you simply love music
I implore you to pick up a copy of Mountain Rescue. The General Store
play their first ever gig on Saturday at the St Agnes Hotel. One not
to miss."
“Bursting with highlights” – Amplifier “Very highly recommended” – Rolling Stone "Like Wayne Coyne singing druggy, country-based AM pop songs after listening to After The Gold Rush" - Space City Rock “The General Store make ‘70’s-scented noises to colossal effect” – Fierce Panda “Traces of The Byrds, The Beatles and Neil Young permeate the songs without dominating them” – Metroland NY “Local Honey signals the arrival of a formidable British talent” – Comes With A Smile Album review by Popmatters "A mellow joy of a disc. Tam Johnstone, the son of Davey of the classic edition of Elton John's band, writes tunes that are as steeped in the '70s as his Dad. His songwriting style often mixes a country-rock approach with a pop sense that rivals classic hit writers like Graham Gouldman. The opening cut, "Letdown", immediately announces that this album is going to be something special. With pedal steel, guitars and banjo, the song has the earmarks of Harvest-era Neil Young. But the combo of Johnstone's appealing vocals and the rising melodies are much more 10CC. This makes for some potent pop, that comes close to following in the path of Cosmic Rough Riders, but carves out its own soulful mature poppy niche. Then there's the stupendous "Long Way", which slots itself somewhere between the tender balladry of the early Eagles and the heart tugging pleas of Pernice Brothers. The rhythm guitars reverberate on the gigantic chorus - and I mean gigantic in both construction and length - it seems the building chorus is a lost art, but this chorus is a complex melodic construction, with an incredible arrangement - from the lead guitar figure that counters the melody to the backing vocals that come in at just the precisely perfect point. This song takes you for a lovely melancholy ride. As does the fine rock-country mix on "Think I'd Best Forget You (one last time)", with a wispy pedal steel in the background and a melody that twists together The Lilac Time and Michael Nesmith. If only Johnstone had a country cry in his voice. Instead, he spontaneously breaks out into an upbeat middle eight comprised of a procession of "do did do dos". It captures the message of the song - he's sad his girl is marrying someone else, but happy to be carrying on. Not everything smacks of Flying Burritos and Brinsley Schwarz. "Airport Breakfast" sounds like a '66 Beatles track performed by the '68 Beatles. That is, the song is basically punchy pop, played with a ramshackle charm that typified the days when the Fabs sported too much facial hair. The bottleneck guitar part even has a George Harrison thing going on. Likewise, "Coming Down" is simply unabashed Brits taking American influences and turning them into lovely pop. This is a fairly spare track that illustrates Johnstone's terrific production. While this isn't mid-fi, it's not 48-track studio wizadry. This is just a guy who knows what he's doing. Johnstone has an instinct for when to let the instruments have their space and when to pile things on for effect. Every song is underpinned by his acoustic guitar, and it is at key moments when suddenly there will be some electric guitars, sitar sounds, loads of backing vocals and whatnot. As a result, he never sells a hook short. There is only misstep along this wonderful journey. While the cover of The Thompson Twins' "Hold Me Now", recast into a folk-pop mode, is an improvement - partly due to the arrangement, and moreso because Johnstone is so much more pleasant to listen to than the flat, monotone Tom Bailey on the original. (I'll leave it to the synth-pop historians to make the call on who was more morose - Bailey or The Human League's Phil Oakey). Still, this song has a pretty thin foundation, certainly not enough to sustain over five minutes of disc time. Moreover, the song sounds all the weaker, surrounded by vastly superior Johnstone compositions. These are compositions that sound so terrific, you'll be racking your brain trying to figure out if the songs have appeared somewhere before. Don't rack too much, as you'll miss the floating bliss of "Stay" and "Pretty Eyes", a love ballad so touching, that it may actually turn one of those mix CDs made to remove the 'un' from 'unrequited love' into an automatic score rather than a nice gesture. It's that good, folks." Album review by Bucketfull Of Brains "The General Store is one Tam Johnstone, who will certainly become more familiar in the years to come as he`s a song-crafter that fills each note and space inside his songs with amazing nuance and character that fans of great songwriters will not be able to ignore. In fact, he was a key contributor to the stunning Orgone Box CD`s released in the past few years and was a member of the influential Green Tambourines. Here, though, as with Orgone Box and GT, the music is multi-varied and soul stirring. The gorgeous strains and influences of World Party, "Harvest"-era Neil Young, C,S,N & Y, Quiver and The Travelling Wilburys are present but filtered purely through Johnstone`s immense talents. He`s also worked with Orgone Box and Green Tambourines those bands` releases will find comfortable enjoyment here, as well. Like many timeless recordings, "Local Honey" was born out of a heartbreaking relationship breakdown. Seeking to express his despondency in a heart-ripping record, Tam rattled off this gem to make the world right. And "right" it clearly is; not a note or second is wasted. Inspired by Neil Young, The Byrds, The Beatles and the deeply absorbed early `70`s West Coast pop of his youth, Johnstone is now introduced to a proper and larger audience. Filled with very pretty, langourous tunes...Songs like "Pretty Eyes" and "Stay" are absolutely gorgeous and the downhome, jangly "Airport Breakfast" has a chorus that will sneak up on you like a vulture stalking his prey. You`ll also love the Teenage Fanclub-esque "Coming Down" which features cool chord changes and striking interplay between vocals and guitar, as well as the ever-building pocket symphony, "Somewhere In Between." An excellent, charming disc of which the major labels ought to take quick note." Album review by All Music Guide "Some of pop music's most classic and enduring records -- think Fleetwood Mac's Rumours or, more recently, Beck's Sea Change -- have been good old-fashioned, miserable breakup albums. Local Honey, the debut from the General Store, essentially the moniker for British singer/songwriter Tam Johnstone, fits this mold perfectly. Johnstone, whose father Davey was the longtime guitarist for Elton John, was born in 1970 and spent his childhood years immersed in the easygoing, laid-back vibe of Southern California singer/songwriters and country-tinged acts like the Eagles and Jackson Browne. Local Honey is his attempt to recreate this sound 30 years later -- and, here's the kicker -- it was recorded live to four-track in one prolific week following a bitter breakup. Ouch. But with Local Honey, Johnstone's misery is your joy, since at least his muse didn't leave him. The album is bursting with highlights, from wounded, Eagles-esque country-rock like "Letdown" to more shambolic country-rock like "Airport Breakfast" and soaring, almost Fleetwood Mac-styled pop like on "Coming Down" and gut-wrenching ballads like "Stay." Many will surely be divided on Johnstone's inclusion of a country-fried remake of the Thompson Twins' "Hold Me Now" (a nod to his teen years, perhaps?), but it manages to stand as the album's only lighthearted moment even though the song itself is actually really sad. Johnstone's vocals fly a bit too frequently into the "strained falsetto" range, but it's the lone drawback to this fine, gorgeous record, perfect for a rainy Sunday morning and a cup of coffee." Live review - The Water Rats, London by Paul Bonham |
