I Feel Alright

by

Mike Johnson

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Thankfully Mike Johnson has never tried to emulate the sound of his day job Dinosaur Jr. With his third solo outing he finally makes clear the humor behind his seemingly despairing music. I Feel Alright seems to be a concept album of songs of heartbreak, yet upon closely listening to the song I Don't Love You (a duet with Tiffany Anders) one hears a sly note of self deprecating humor. Johnson asks why (of a breakup) to which Anders replies "I've got another guy"...to this reviewer high comedy (as well as great songwriting). If you fancy sad sacks such as Cave, Tindersticks, Lanegan or for that matter classic singers like Charlie Rich, you need this album. It's not really all that funny in the end.

This is a great place to start with Mike Johnson's solo catalog. It is a major refinement on his debut "A Year of Mondays," which suffers from some dreadfully sophomoric lyrics at points. Musically, he continues to mine the mellow darkness he helped develop on Mark Lanegan's early solo work.

He's no longer trying to straddle the fence between downbeat acoustic guitar and Dinosaur Jr.-style shredding. On "I Feel Alright" he's settled on one sound -- the acoustic one. Excellent harmony vocals by Tiffany Anders offset his world-weary yet rich voice. He sings a bit like a depressed Leo Kottke.