Eric Johanson

Live in Mississippi

Ruf Records

New Orleans native Eric Johanson was recognized as a soulful blues guitarist while still in high school. In 2017, Johanson released “Burn It Down” on Tab Benoit’s Whiskey Bayou Records. In 2018, New Orleans’ Offbeat Magazine nominated “Burn It Down” as the “Best Blues Album of 2018.”. In 2019, Johanson collaborated with New Orleans’ Tiffany Pollack on the album “Blues in My Blood.”. Johanson’s solo albums include 2020’s “Below Sea Level”; 2021’s Covered Tracks Vol. 1 & Vol. 2; 2022’s “Live At DBA: New Orleans Bootleg”; and 2023’s “The Deep And The Dirty.”.

The best live albums put you right there on the front row. The raucous Friday-night crowd welcomed Johanson to the stage at the Ground Zero Club in Biloxi, Ms. The album opens with a Johanson original, “Nowhere to Go,” with the guitarist singing, “We got nothing to do, nowhere to go…” rounding out the trio are bassist Will Repholz and drummer Terry Scott, Jr.

“Undertow” was written by Johanson with Jesse Dayton: “Way down in the undertow. It’s way past midnight. I fly through the undertow.”. On “Just Like New,” also from that writing team, is Johanson as he belts out, “I break the chains that bind me; all I can see with you is brighter days. Come back just like you.”. “Yellow Moon” was written by Aaron Neville and sung by the Neville Brothers. It has a tropical beat as Johanson sings, “Yellow moon, yellow moon, you keep peekin’ in my window…you don’t tell me if the girl is ever coming back.”.

“Galaxy Girl” is another song written by Johanson and Dayton: “She got away of foggin’ up my mind. She’s my galaxy girl. She pulls me out to another dimension. She’s my galaxy girl. She pulls me out to the edge of space. She’s my galaxy girl.”. “I Walk On Guilded Splinters” is from Doctor John: “Some people think I’ve jivin; they must think I’m crazy… walk on guilded splinters, walk through the fire, walk through the snow…gone, gone, geti’ git’ gone, walk on guilded splinters.”.

“Hard Time Killing Floor Blues” was written by Skip James and Robert Connely: “Hard times, gettin’ harder, wherever you go… sing my song, sing no more, it’s hard times…from door to door.”. On “Familiar Sound,” also from Johanson and Dayton, “I got a notion to leave my life behind. I tried everything; I traveled wide. That old familiar sound. I met a woman. She turned my world around, and I still hear her sometimes. That old familiar sound plays on my weary mind.”. “Changes the Universe” is another Johanson original: “I can say that I love you and tell you you’re all that I need…but you see me, chasing a lonely man’s dream…it changes the universe if I had your love.”. The closer “Don’t Hold Back” is yet another original from Johanson, as he chimes, “Don’t hold back, give me all you got, don’t hold back…know where I’d rather be, gimme all you got, you opened your mind, baby, you opened your eyes, don’t hold back, gimme’ all you got.”.

Eric Johanson states, “The great thing about making a live record is you just play your heart out at the show, and the record captures where you are at that moment in your life. You don’t have a chance to overthink or re-do anything, or at least you shouldn’t. I just focus on sharing an experience with the people in the room, and I think the listener at home can feel that.”. I believe I feel it too, and so should you.

Richard Ludmerer

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