CD Review: Horrow by Johnny Thompson

Scotty must have beamed me down to another one of those new and uncharted worlds right before Horrow started hitting my ears. I must be on another planet as there is no word horrow that I could find in the dictionary, English, or any of several other earthly languages. All the sounds on this new planet are brand new, though at times somewhat strangely familiar. But as all you adventurous space travelers know, the new is not something to turn away from but rather requires deep exploration. Are you ready to take this trip with me? I need a few good men and women. Scotty, beam them down.

Thompson has never been conventional, at least as long as I've been aware of him (which admittedly isn't that long), and Horrow certainly confirms this assertion. The first cut, the instrumental "Idle Billy" just screams at you, no; make that, howls at you. The dual guitar work (at least it sounds dual), with the slide so prominent, is just superb and grabs your attention, just like a first cut should. The mood of this song sort of fits the CD title, having both an eerie (horror) element as well as a bluesy (sorrowful) one. Let's trek a little further.

The brief "Disk Erase" starts out with what sounds like a cocking gun (although it could have been a stapler or something similar) and sounds like it's about a lost love opportunity. It starts off reflectively and ends more emphatically (sound familiar, lovers?). "Withdraw All" is a nice bluesy, gentle-starting song, with tender vocals that eventually get stretched (or bent) into the high range. The guitar work is juicy, consisting of several style segments, one a Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young-sounding vocal and guitar (both Stills and Young at times) mix, another with guitar licks that vaguely ring of Clapton during his Delaney and Bonnie era. This might be my favorite.

I want to emphasize here that although there are elements of the past on this CD, it is all brand new with Thompson's indelible imprint. For example, I can't say I've ever heard anyone with a voice like his, and it works very well with his music and vocals. I believe I counted at least twenty different instruments in use on this album, including dobro, clarinet, bassoon, trumpets and trombones. The music is rich and deep, a smorgasbord of sound you just need to hear for yourself. If you want something out of the ordinary, get this CD.

"Molly Rovers" is Celtic on speed. Hey Johnny, any thoughts of getting together with Michael Flatley, or better yet, some local Irish dancers, for the video on this? That would be awesome. "Bella Fina" features some real smooth guitar work, and Thompson raunches up his vocals just a bit. "Deep Sigh" impresses with its' violin work by Julianna Waller. "437", which is a bunch of Thompson's voice mail messages embedded in techno noise and drums, is interesting the first few times you listen. But going forward I will mostly be skipping over this one unless I'm really in the mood for it. "Abpsychle" starts off with a 50s chord progression that is brilliantly bent/warped (sort of like Zappa used to bend and warp things) right into 2009. It then morphs nicely into something that sounds very Pink Floydish. This might also be my favorite cut (so now you know my top two).

In the backstretch, "Touchstoner" ends up with some real nice slide and acoustic guitar mix, sort of like good Southern rock. "Parvo" weaves in and out of light and airy vs. dark and frightful segments, which is probably just what a dog experiences when it has the disease. The final cut is the beautiful "28 Masterpieces". With its' deep vocals, rich acoustic guitar, and very interesting percussion, any ELP fan will love this. It's even got some expansive keyboards in it.

Oh no, not yet! It seems the mothership has to move quick before it falls into a black hole. Scotty has to beam us up. No wait! They took a hit and have to move now. No time for the transporter. They'll come back for us when they can. In the meantime, this new planet won't be so bad after all. Hey Spock, play Horrow again, and again, and again. Great Scott, I think it gets better each time we hear it. There's no place to go so just sit back crew, relax, and enjoy. I think we wound up here for a reason.

Horrow is available at Great Escapes Records in Bowling Green, KY, Blackbird Boutique in Scottsville, KY, and will soon be available online through cdbaby.com. The artist's MySpace page is /johnmjohnnythompson.