Music Review: Michael Johns - Hold Back My Heart

Michael Johns is set to release his new album Hold Back My Heart on June 23rd. Johns was a contestant on American Idol in 2008. While he only finished the contest in eighth place, the show did give him some much needed national exposure.

Before the show, Johns had been struggling in the business for a while. After a few close brushes with a "big break," only to have his music remain unreleased, Johns auditioned for American Idol. His unexpected early departure is well known among fans of the show.  It may have been one of the factors that led to the addition of the new judges "second chance” rule.

All of that is behind Johns now. In the past year he has made several television appearances. He wrote and recorded a soundtrack for Shaun White’s snowboarding documentary Don’t Look Down. I had the opportunity to speak with Johns last year when Hold Back My Heart was still in the early stages of development. At the time he emphasized that the music was the most important thing to him and that this release would have a “rock/soul vibe.” Now, a year later, the album is here.

Hold Back My Heart does have a rock/soul vibe with a definite emphasis on soul. On this album Johns is certainly in his element, delivering a tight soul and old school R&B album. I dare say there is not a bad track on it. If anyone was unsure while watching Idol of what musical style Johns considered himself, they need only listen to this album. The songs are well written and all emphasize the strengths of his voice. The album’s first single “Heart On My Sleeve” was released in April and has been doing well on the adult contemporary charts.

Die-hard Johns fans will recognize five of the tracks from a demo album he recorded prior to appearing on Idol. The album was never officially released but briefly could be found online. The five songs reserved for this release were definitely the best of the bunch, and it’s good to see they found a place on this album.

Especially good is “Fool’s Gold.” The song is a blues ballad that has a Rolling Stones (a la “I Got The Blues”) meets the Allman Brothers kind of feel. “Feeling Alright” is a fun upbeat track that is probably the closest thing to rock on the entire album. The song is reminiscent of INXS both musically and vocally. And of course I mean that in a good way. At their best INXS melded R&B, rock and pop into a contemporary throwback that was fun to listen to. This song achieves that sound.

Article Author: Sherry Lipp

Sherry writes mostly music and dvd reviews and on occasion she gets to do an interview. She plays the guitar, enjoys playing with her dog Pepsi and she and her husband are currently in the process of internationally adopting from Poland.

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