(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
High Landrons
Eric Johnson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I hear a strong wind whine;
Goin' to where the freedom bells ring,
Into the Highlands I must climb.
On this journey, I have been here before,
tryin' to reach the other side;
i just can't get through the top of these hills,
Without a mountain guide.
Took such a while to find you,
Oh could you show me the way?
To get to the place I once knew,
You're the only one, so take me through High Landrons.
Up ahead, I know the trailway stops,
From there on, only eagles fly;
Burning (with) visions of the way back to you,
They're burnin' through the eastern sky.
Now and then I see a shooting star,
Lighting up the silver blue;
It's shining all the way down the mountain skyway,
Oh, it's shining straight from you.
Took all my life to find you,
Oh could you show me the way?
To get to the place I once knew,
You're the only one, so take me through High Landrons.
Up ahead...
Took all my life to find you,
Oh could you show me the way?
To get to the place I once knew,
You're the only one, so take me through High Landrons.
Up ahead...
The lyrics of Eric Johnson's "High Landrons" portray a journey, both physical and emotional, to a place of nostalgic significance. The singer begins by describing their current surroundings, on the edge of snowy mountains, in which they hear the whistling wind. They express a desire to reach a place where freedom rings and must climb into the Highlands to do so. The imagery in these opening lines provides a sense of adventure, possibility, and even danger.
However, the singer reveals that this journey, or at least the call to undertake it, is not new. They have been here before, trying to reach the other side, but cannot do so without a mountain guide. This line suggests that perhaps their past attempts to find this place of freedom have failed without someone to help them navigate. The singer then implores someone to take them through High Landrons, the only person who can show them the way to the place they once knew. Throughout the lyrics, there is a sense of longing, nostalgia, and a willingness to take risks to reach this place of significance.
Line by Line Meaning
Way down here on the edge of these snows,
I hear a strong wind whine;
I am at a remote, snowy location where the howling wind can be heard.
Goin' to where the freedom bells ring,
Into the Highlands I must climb.
I am headed to a place where the sound of freedom reigns, and I have to go up the mountains to get there.
On this journey, I have been here before,
tryin' to reach the other side;
i just can't get through the top of these hills,
Without a mountain guide.
I have tried to make this journey before, but I couldn't make it past the high mountains without assistance.
Took such a while to find you,
Oh could you show me the way?
To get to the place I once knew,
You're the only one, so take me through High Landrons.
It took me a long time to find you, and now that I have you, I need your guidance to take me back to a place I once knew. You are the only one who can lead me through High Landrons.
Up ahead, I know the trailway stops,
From there on, only eagles fly;
Burning (with) visions of the way back to you,
They're burnin' through the eastern sky.
I am aware that the trailway ends soon, and from that point on, only eagles can go further. However, I am still burning with visions of getting back to you, and this desire is so strong that it fills the entire eastern sky.
Now and then I see a shooting star,
Lighting up the silver blue;
It's shining all the way down the mountain skyway,
Oh, it's shining straight from you.
Occasionally, I catch a glimpse of a shooting star illuminating the silver-blue skies above the mountains. It seems like it's shining down from the mountain skyway, and I feel it must be a direct reflection of your presence.
Took all my life to find you,
Oh could you show me the way?
To get to the place I once knew,
You're the only one, so take me through High Landrons.
Up ahead...
It took me my entire life to find you, and now that I have, I beg you to guide me to a place I once knew. I trust that you're the only one who can take me through High Landrons, and I implore you to lead the way.
Took all my life to find you,
Oh could you show me the way?
To get to the place I once knew,
You're the only one so take me through High Landrons.
Up ahead...
It took me my entire life to find you, and now that I have, I beg you to guide me to a place I once knew. I trust that you're the only one who can take me through High Landrons, and I implore you to lead the way.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: DAVID ERIC JOHNSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@lilyackerman143
Way down here on the edge of these snows,
I hear a strong wind whine;
Goin' to where the freedom bells ring,
Into the Highlands I must climb.
On this journey, I have been here before,
Tryin' to reach the other side;
I just can't get through the top of these hills,
Without a mountain guide.
Took such a while to find you,
Oh could you show me the way?
To get to the place I once knew,
You're the only one, so take me through High Landrons.
Up ahead, I know the trailway stops,
From there on, only eagles fly;
Burning (with) visions of the way back to you,
They're burnin' through the eastern sky.
Now and then I see a shooting star,
Lighting up the silver blue;
It's shining all the way down the mountain skyway,
Oh, it's shining straight from you.
Took all my life to find you,
Oh could you show me the way?
To get to the place I once knew,
You're the only one, so take me through High Landrons.
Up ahead...
Took all my life to find you,
Oh could you show me the way?
To get to the place I once knew,
You're the only one, so take me through High Landrons.
Up ahead...💜
@mattevans060972
One of the most under-rated songs in history. It’s also a bit sad that EJ isn’t more well known outside guitar circles. He’s a genius.
@Biarkii
this is the best version of this song ever made
@tyronejefforeillyramirez7961
@@Biarkiiagree 100%
@jankafka7330
There's a large load of bullshit here.
@warrenrayledbetter9957
Ah Via Musicom was one of the greatest albums ever.
@kaythornton9533
I agree with you 100% 💋
@thomasengman7655
And "Venus Isle" is a masterpiece too... 😇🙏🏼💙🌟
@njwpoo666
I agree!!!
@surveyordave
boy, that is for sure! right alongside venus isle
@seanmcnally4296
Every song is a masterpiece