JOHNNY GREENWOOD
There’s Still A Country Boy In Me
There’s
Still A Country Boy In Boy – The Ballad of Forby Sutherland – How You
Goin’ Mate – Roses And Crinolines – The Rescue From Beaconsfield Gold
Mine – Mum And Dad’s Waltz – My Old Australia Home – A Beautiful Place –
Rolling Waggons – A Satisfied Mind – When The Brisbane Wattle Blooms
Again – Springtime In The Valley – Charlie’s Dream – She Was Happy Till
She Met You
Just when I despair that ‘country’ music has reached the end of
it’s road, along comes a super good very real ‘country’ artist who still
puts the words and music together to create once again a super ‘true’
country album. Johnny Greenwood is one of Australia’s most appreciated
and famous ‘real’ country artists. His use of fiddle and steel guitar
makes it a super experience to hear something ‘real’ again. The very
first song sets the stage for all the following songs on this album.
Johnny surely does a good job putting words on paper to demonstrate his
incredible appreciation for ‘country’ music. All of the following songs
follow the same recipe for music making in a definite ‘genre’ of music
that is rapidly disappearing in America, but is still alive and well in
Australia. Mr. Greenwood used some of the best musicians I’ve heard
doing this ‘kind’ of music. Steve Sparrow is the mover and shaker
performing on acoustic and electric guitar, bass, drums, harmonica and
backing vocals. Add Hugh Curtis on fiddle and mandolin and you have the
beginning of a super ‘real’ country session. Add Ray Cullen on the
pedal steel guitar and you have the backbone of the music, but if you’re
still not sure, add Gary Vann on banjo. Nicely produced and certainly
makes the music called ‘country’ today, nothing more than robotic music
for the money changers. Not so with Johnny Greenwood, historical
significance is still important to him. Listen to “The Ballad of Forby
Sutherland” and you’ll quickly learn about the seaman on Captain Cook’s
‘Endeavor” who died at Botany Bay, the first white man to be buried in
Australia. This album is one of Johnny’s early recordings, his 15th,
but only recently put out on CD, What a treat for fans of ‘real’
country music. This particular album is chock full of great
‘Australian’ historical heritage, right down to the “How Ya Goin’ Mate”
definitely an Australian ‘country’ song. A recent survey in America
reveals that 17% of those polled listen to ‘pop’ music, and then it goes
on to list other favorites like rap, classical, jazz, etc., ‘country’
music is not even on the list, so much like politics today in America
today , it all depends on who you ask, and this poll is like all the
others, very false and untrue, especially if it does not even ‘list’
country music as being listened to at all. Not the same in Australia,
where they still appreciate the ‘makings’ and ‘doings’ of creating some
‘real’ country music. My dream, most of my life, has been to appear at
Tamworth at their great country gathering. So since that is highly
unlikely, I will forward this Johnny Greenwood excellent ‘country’ CD to
the Rural Roots Music Commission. I already know what their opinion is
going to be, so there it is…..country music is still country. And by
the way, Johnny is a great yodeler too, “Rolling Waggons” written by
Les Wilson is a perfect example of perfect ‘country’ music.
RECORD REVIEW BY BOB EVERHART, President, National Traditional Country Music Assn. for Country Music News International