The album that brought Eric Johnson into the spotlight, Ah Via Musicom is a fine piece of work that avoids the pitfalls a “guitar virtuoso” album attracts.
Make no mistake, there are several instrumental rock songs on the disc that feature Johnson’s solos all over the place, proof that he rightfully deserves to be classified among Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen and any other virtuoso you care to name from the 1980s and ‘90s. But many other songs feature him singing, and there is far less of the posturing, shredding and showing off that clutters up Vai’s albums.
This is the disc that features “Cliffs Of Dover,” one of the great instrumental of the last two decades, with an instantly recognizable riff and some killer playing throughout. Wisely, Johnson treats it as an actual song instead of an excuse to solo for four minutes, so those moments of lightning-fast hammer notes are few and far between, coming as genuine surprise and serving the song. The track is offset by more midtempo rock fare like “Nothing Can Keep Me From You” and “Desert Rose,” while the short acoustic “Song For George” and the fun “Steve’s Boogie” show Johnson expanding his palette with country influence.
Johnson’s guitar tone is very clear and his voice sounds a little like Don Henley, so there is a sort of late-‘80s production sheen to this that waters down the impact just a bit and makes some of the supporting instrumentation difficult to hear. But frankly, there isn’t a weak song in the bunch. “Righteous” is the album’s other instrumental highlight, all smoking guitar and harmonica, sounding equally at home in the hands of a capable bar band or an arena (Johnson, you remember, was the third member of the G3 tour, and rightly so).
The songs were Johnson sings are a bit less exciting, but only “Forty Mile Town” lacks any real impact, especially following “Righteous.” Better is the closing “East Wes,” a fusion jazz-inspired piece with a solid hook and a pensive mood. Think of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Riviera Paradise” sped up a bit and you’ll be close to how this one sounds, if you need a reason to listen to this.
Guitar fiends of the ‘90s knew all about Johnson, but outside of the music community his work wasn’t as well known, as guitar virtuosity never received much airplay in the time of grunge, insipid synth-pop and the rise of R&B/hip-hop that characterized the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. For shame, because this is a solid album that guitar fans would do well to discover (or rediscover).
