(2) Very few musical artists achieve a true signature style -- one that makes comparisons to other musicians impossible. But Texas guitarist Eric Johnson arguably comes as close to this echelon as any musician from the past quarter-century. Like fellow Lone Star State guitarists Johnny Winter, Billy Gibbons, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, Johnson blends the rock style of Jimi Hendrix and the blues power of Albert King. Yet Johnson's wide array of additional influences (from the Beatles and Jeff Beck to jazz and Chet Atkins) makes for a guitar sound as unique as his fingerprints.
"When I first heard Eric," Winter recalled, "he was only 16, and I remember wishing that I could have played like that at that age." Former Doobie Brothers guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter said, "If Jimi Hendrix had gone on to study with Howard Roberts for about eight years, you'd have what this kid strikes me as." The Austin prodigy appeared on the cover of Guitar Player magazine while working with Texas jazz/fusion band the Electromagnets and as a session player (Cat Stevens, Carole King, Christopher Cross), and a 1984 performance on the TV show Austin City Limits set his recording career in motion.
Johnson's 1986 debut album, Tones, certainly proved that the hype was warranted. Playing with the ace rhythm section of bassist Roscoe Beck and drummer Tommy Taylor, Johnson mixed blazing instrumentals ("Zap," "Victory") with Beatles-influenced vocal tunes like "Emerald Eyes" and "Bristol Shore." Johnson used the same half-and-half format on the 1990 follow-up, Ah Via Musicom, but a trio of the album's tunes surprisingly made him the first artist to have three instrumentals from the same album to chart in the Top Ten in any format (with "Cliffs of Dover" earning Johnson a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental).
But, if Johnson had a perceived weakness, it was the perfectionism that caused four years to pass between recordings. Even in concert, he would painstakingly tune his guitar between songs, by ear, for minutes on end. With the success of Ah Via Musicom, the guitarist admitted to feeling pressure to raise the bar again. But Johnson's studio nitpicking delayed Venus Isle until 1996, and the disappointing CD contained fewer instrumentals and sounded forced.
A stint on the 1997 G3 tour with fellow headlining guitarists Joe Satriani and Steve Vai, and its resulting live release, breathed new life into Johnson and sparked the idea of a live album. Overhauling his band for the 2000 CD Live and Beyond, Johnson brought in bassist Chris Maresh and drummer Bill Maddox, and concentrated on more of a blues feel. The guitarist still blended instrumentals with his vocal tunes ("Shape I'm In," "Last House on the Block"), but perhaps realized that his thin voice was too one-dimensional for guttural blues or R&B. Guest vocalist Malford Milligan ignites "Don't Cha Know" and "Once a Part of Me," helping Johnson's blazing debut on Vai's Favored Nations label and reestablishing the versatile virtuoso's status for the 21st century. As Vai himself testified, "Eric has more colorful tone in his fingers than Van Gogh had on his palette."
Souvenir, an album available only through Johnson's website, appeared in 2002, followed by CD and DVD versions of New West's Live from Austin, TX and Bloom, the second album for Vai's Favored Nations imprint, in 2005. Johnson returned in 2010 with Up Close, a studio album that slightly emphasized the guitarist's Texas roots. A collaboration with jazz guitarist Mike Stern, Eclectic, appeared in 2014. ~ Bill Meredith
East Wes
Eric Johnson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There are silk clouds floating through a room,
Inside the clouds, there is a King's Crown;
The crown is made of beautiful panels,
Of different colors;
Inside the panels, there are three keys,
Longpath Meadow.
As an instrumental, Eric Johnson's "East Wes" features no lyrics for interpretation. Instead, the listener is invited to immerse themselves in the atmosphere created by the music, allowing the soaring guitar melodies and supporting instrumentation to paint a picture in their mind's eye. The opening guitar riff, reminiscent of the opening notes of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven," sets the mystical and mysterious tone of the piece. The use of effects such as reverb and delay add to the dreamlike quality of the music, as if the listener is traversing through an otherworldly landscape.
As the music progresses, the listener can picture the silk clouds mentioned in the first line, billowing and swirling in the air. The image of a King's Crown made of beautiful panels introduces a regal element to the scene, with the different colors of the panels suggesting a vibrant, multi-faceted aesthetic. The emphasis on the three keys within the panels adds an element of intrigue - what is behind those locked doors? Finally, the reference to a meadow and long pathway brings to mind a sense of journey and adventure, as if the listener is being led through a fantastical realm.
Line by Line Meaning
There are silk clouds floating through a room,
The atmosphere is filled with tranquility and peace, resembling a cloud as they slowly move across the room.
Inside the clouds, there is a King's Crown;
Hidden amongst the clouds is a symbol of power and authority, a crown worn by kings.
The crown is made of beautiful panels,
The crown is intricately designed and crafted with layers of exquisite panels.
Of different colors;
Each panel has a distinct and unique hue, adding to the beauty of the crown.
Inside the panels, there are three keys,
Secretly concealed within the crown are three keys which hold significant value and importance.
The keys open into a meadow with a long pathway,
Unlocking the keys leads to the discovery of a vast meadow with a pathway that stretches for a long distance.
Longpath Meadow.
This meadow is aptly named due to the length of its pathway which provides a journey through the beauty of nature.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@WesWoodle
My name is Wes. Since I first heard this, it speaks to my soul. If anyone could please like my comment so that this song can play at my funeral.
@mikegrossguitar
This song is so epic. Love EJs tone
@bretstanley9449
Three and a half minutes of sheer beauty! Thanks for posting!
@hapax87
Eric's tribute to jazz legend, Wes Montgomery. Eric did a fine job here.
@fivestring65ify
This is a great song to listen too when the weather is warm, and it's raining in the evening, which it's doing here right now.
@davidreed2784
Tone!!! It is unfortunate that in today's musical climate that artist such as this are buried under commercial crap. I've seen Eric many times over 30 years and always delivers Shivers
@blue23song31
Good tone..good vibe to this song..I love it
@blisterfree
Hearing this at age 19 or 20 when the record first came out at the height of the late 80’s virtuoso guitar era, I didn’t know it was dedicated to Wes Montgomery or even who that might be. But it would take artists I idolized like Eric Johnson to turn me on to jazz fusion music which eventually led to discovering Pat Metheny and then Wes, Pat’s primary guitar idol when he was first coming up in the world of music himself.
@rodiebobwilliams1330
I saw him in 1981 at a place called the caboose in Dallas..He introduced me to what guitar should be...Cant thank him enough..
@194853DodgeTrucks
A friend handed me "Tones" in 1987......still haven't found a way to pay him back.