Songs
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Music from my heart & soul!! Songs about happiness, love, anger, despair, trust, comfort, sadness, appreciation etc, etc.. In short - about life.. All originals apart from tracks 11, 13 & 14. I had to include these covers that I love and been inspired by over the years!! You can hear the music
over at my Spotify page
A
click on the old phonograph icon
1. All over again
A blues about how you think you've learned and moved on.. And about how you realize that you haven't learned a thing and make the same move or mistake again, haha! That's just life. And love! Playin' an old 1936 Levin guitar on this song, model #195. Amazing instrument, you can see it in the GEAR section! My harmonica-buddy Stefan Swén blows some mean harp and Lars Åstrand goes blues on the violin!!
Followin’ my own footsteps, got’em
walkin’ blues for sure,
Don’t know if I’m stayin’ or headin’ out your door?
2. The truth Stop the wars, plain and simple, violence of any kind! That's the truth, folks.. So sick and tired of all the shit that's goin' on in our world, on a global or local scale, This song is a declaration of hope, I guess. We sure can end all that's wrong if we just want to and work collectively towards it. Kazoo, I get to play this amazing, today totally overlooked blues instrument here, I love it! Playing bottleneck slide on a BANJO from 1931 as well as a small parlor size Republic Resolian resonator guitar sets the tone, Lars plays mandolin and Roger Ekman chimes in on some fine double-bass playing!
So
everyone should listen, yeah, to that message of love,
it was spoken by man with a vision, now speakin´ to our hearts from
above.
3. I’ve been told This boils down to the fact that so many people have a hard time letting go of their pride.. No matter what the cost, they just won't listen to any other reasoning and "stick their heads in the sand". Pride is a really good thing mostly but sometimes it can really destroy relations between people.. I say. let it go!! On this track my old friends Mattias Olofsson plays drums and Mattias Nordqvist plays a Steinway D model grand piano. I'm playing an early 1930's archtop guitar built in Germany by the ESTE company, wonderful instrument that really sings! Yeah,
folks that´s my tip to you, just let go of your pride, if you don´t,
4. Anything can be Yes, anything can be! A good mantra for sure, the power of will and hope shouldn't be underestimated. Don't pay attention to people telling you it can't be done, follow Your dream! We've got Mattias on drums/percussion and Stefan on harp on this one. I play my trusted resonator tricone guitar, an Amistar handmade in Prague in 2005.
Now did you
ever think of quittin’, without asking why,
while we are postponing, our lives goes running by, you see
5. Tired man blues Singing about being tired basically.. Tired of traveling, tired of looking for love and then finally and suddenly finding a place to stay, love and getting out of a tiresome period in life. She came into my world and lifted my spirits up!! This track features Mattias N playing a reed/pump organ from the early 1900's!! It's so nice to hear it huffin' 'n puffin' while sounding so old school cool, I love it! I'm playing a guitar called the Highway 61 WOODY from Republic Guitars, all mahogany resonator and stompin' the floor.
Sometimes
all sunshine, sometimes life´s a muddy trail, one day your
summerbreeze turns into a cold rain and hail..
6. Road worn Road worn? Absolutely.. Sometimes the touring life for a musician wears you down, a bit. Not always! Since 2005 I've been all over the globe, almost, as my alias Bottleneck John. Playing gigs solo or with accompanient on tours traveling by bus, boats, ferries, planes, trains, cars etc etc. Even walking a whole lot, haha! Not always staying in fine cozy hotels either, got my share of sleeping on whatever even floors! A burnt out house was perhaps top 5 of weird accomodations offered as shelter along with a totally robbed building in the US.. Amazing what you might experience as a touring bluesman! Traveling for 38 hours straight without sleep is another nice thing. Or an almost asleep taxi driver in the Cz. Republic goin' off-road, and how about going in a taxi at 150km/h from an airport in Poland in hard rain, also memorable moments! I should write my biography soon I think. Anyhow, that's what I thought about when this song came to be. Not to mention the tens of thousands of km's I've yearly driven myself to and from gigs in various cars. On the other hand, being out on tour can be the most satisfying thing! Meeting people, seeing new places, trying out local food and drinks, playing in front of new audiences are something I truly enjoy, good fun!! A Hammond organ on overdrive, double-bass and a brass bodied resonator guitar creates the song.
I’ve had to wake all night and sleep on floors or walk so long,
‘til my feet got sore. 7. Broken How about just one more sad love song, the blues can be broken trusts, hopes, feelings etc. Keepin' love alive over time and distance is hard work but manageable! Mattias Olofsson lays the laidback beat here, Stefan on harp, Lars on violin and yours truly on a vintage 1912 Levin acoustic as well as a handbuilt 4-stringed CBG, cigarbox guitar for the electric background.. The CBG's are awesome instruments for blues & roots music with it's simple construction and "home made" feel, they're the original blues guitars! I´ve been on the lonesome road with the rain pourin down, feelin´ blue, thinkin´ of you, missin´ you around…
8. The hokum hot dog
Waay back, during the 1920/30's, there was a hugely popular blues genre called Hokum. Ribald lyrics and double entendre meanings made these 78 rpm records sell really well. It's so much fun listening to the old masters sing about "banana in your fruit basket" & "please warm my wiener"!! Here's my take on the matter, some house rockin' blues about having an awesome BBQ party! Assar Danielsson on the electric bass, Mattias N plays the old Bechstein grand piano built in 1896 to it's limits, haha! The slide guitar is a 1944 flattop acoustic from the Levin company. Stefan on harp!
The BBQ’s ready,
it’s all done. Just bring your hot dog bun, and we can have some
fun!! You can have my hot dog, have my mustard too!
9.
Losin’ faith Here's a laidback, slow blues about how love's affected when the trust is gone and faith/hope too.. Relationships goin' down! Been through a number of these like most folks have, never fun in any way but you'll come out stronger from it all, hopefully. Mattias Nordqvist plays the model D Steinway and Kent Ögren on double-bass. I'm playin' a nice old Levin archtop guitar from 1954 here, I just love the "dry" tone!
My eyes blinded with love, my soul screamin´ in pain.
10.
I just sit back and watch the show
Banjo!!! Yes, here's a 1931 6-stringed banjo along with Lars Å on mandolin. The lyrics are about how sometimes things get so silly between people that you just gotta sit back and see how things unfold eventually.. That's the B-l-u-s-e as Son House explained things!
Beautiful things they come undone ‘cause in you mind they can’t be
found.
See the world in a different light, a stirred soul in your own
right..
11. The road to hell (Chris Rea) This is one of my all time favourite songs! I've always meant to do a more rootsy rendition compared to the original from the 80's. And here it is. A Steinway grand piano, drums, banjo and guitars brings the ol'timey vibe. The lyrics haven't aged a bit, still so relevant!! With Mattias N playing piano, Mattias O behind the drums and me on electric/acoustic guitars and banjo.
She said, Son what are you doing here? My fear for you has turned
me in my grave.
12. Whenever things go wrong A little tune about a friendship that'll last. A love that will surely stay and never leave. About my trusted friend that I can turn to for comfort whenever things go wrong. Haha, this is a song about.... a guitar!! And what a guitar - here you hear the sweet tone from a late 1800's parlor guitar, folks! Just amazing that they're still among us and work so well! This one's a no-name (probably German made) from around 1880/90, stunning instrument, C.F Martin styled.. Great dry tone with much mid-range and little bass!
When everything else is gone, and everyone too, you´re still around
here to listen, when I sing my blues for you!
13. I shall not walk alone (Ben Harper) One of the most beautiful songs out there in my opinion, Ben Harpers low-key slow gospel blues ballad! Mattias N plays a 1896 Bechstein grand piano with Assar D on fretless bass. My trusted Amistar tricone Style 1 takes the bottleneck slide parts. Backing vocals by Mattias O and Lars Å.
Battered and torn still I can see the light, Tattered and worn
but I must kneel to fight
14. I’m
an old bumble bee
Yup, here's a really heavy hittin' coolest of cool drummer! The final track on this album goes rural roots with a 1956 tractor that provides engine rhythm for this old 1930's blues by legendary Bo Carter!! (Armenter Chatmon) Lasse Åstrand plays fiddle, Assar Danielsson play a really cool parlor guitar bass from 1931!! I'm slidin' on a Telecaster and an early 1930's ESTE acoustic archtop guitar. Good fun, folks!!
I’m an old
bumblebee, just dropped in your town, Ain’t none of these women turn
this old bumblebee down.
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Words & Music by Johan "Bottleneck John" Eliasson (c) 2023, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.
