For those of you lucky enough to have taped the original airing on PBS back in 1988, you should be pleased to know that Eric Johnson's complete Austin City Limits performance has finally been released on DVD. If you really hurry, you just may find some unsuspecting fan on EBAY still willing to shell out a few bucks for that worn out VHS tape. I love it when a classic performance like this finally gets to see the light of day. I mean, I guess an Eagles concert video coming 25 years too late, or a 61 year old Paul McCartney breaking out a few Beatles songs in Red Square is better than nothing, but I'd personally find some Hotel California tour footage or a remastered Rockshow DVD slightly more satisfying? It just figures that all these bands are now releasing concert DVDs at a near CD pace, now that most of the new bands suck. Except for the ones I like of course.
Decked out in his finest Sgt. Peppers jacket, and sporting a trendy Flock of Seagulls hairdo, Johnson, backed by the ace rhythm section of Kyle Brock (bass) and Tommy Taylor (drums), performed this stunning sixty minute set in his hometown of Austin, Texas on December 14th, 1988. Don't let the silly get up fool you because this guy's guitar playing is anything but silly. Like his fellow Texas-born guitar slingers Stevie Ray Vaughan, Billy Gibbons, and Johnny Winter, Johnson was primarily inspired by the blues, but he went on to create a signature sound based on his unique guitar tone and a fluid combination of rock, blues, and jazz elements. Just like with Jeff Beck or Eddie Van Halen, you can tell it's Johnson playing after only a few notes from his guitar.
Although the term often gets thrown around too loosely, Eric Johnson is truly a guitarist's guitarist. Possessing the speed and precision of a Yngwie Malmsteen and the finesse of a Larry Carlton, you will often hear some of the worlds greatest guitar legends marvel at his warm tone and amazing chops. Johnson can also be a frustrating perfectionist who has only released three new studio albums since his excellent solo debut Tones in 1986. That's about one album every six years - and he's only getting worse. There was nine, count'em (9), years between Venus Isle and this year's Bloom. Who does he think he is Axle Frickin' Rose? I'm just glad I'm not THAT into him or I'd be really pissed. Johnson's only other live concert footage to be officially released are the few songs that you get on the first G3 video, and his performance of "Desert Rose" on the Crossroads Guitar Festival DVD.
Article comments
1 - John Boran
Hey Paul, that was a good review of Eric Johnson's DVD from the ACL show back in 1988. It is, as you stated a guitar players dream DVD. I've been going to see him in the Houston area since 1982 at Rockefellers for $5.00. That bastard caused me to finally realize that I wasn't that great and I basically gave up my dream of becoming the next EVH. Anyway, the song Western Flyer did, in fact, appear on a casette called "Guitar Speak" back in the mid 80's along with a bunch of other decent guitar players like Gary Moore, Steve Howe, etc. The production value on Eric's track is stunning. You should try to find a copy, there are 3 or 4 other decent tunes on the casette but Eric's bullet proof track is worth the price of the casette alone. Later, John.