Freedy Johnston
Blue Days, Black Nights
WEA/Elektra
The great thing about CD players is that you can hit the repeat button to hear a song over and over again. You never have to lift a needle or hit a rewind button. The miracle of this technology has allowed me to listen to “Caught as You Look Away” over and over again with minimal wear and tear on my stereo equipment, and the benefit is instant! You hit the button and there’s the song again. You don’t have to wait for a tape to rewind, you don’t have to worry about scratching your record by dropping a needle too hard on a vinyl track, and you don’t have to trod across the room in cold barefeet to rewind the song again. You little snots who’ve grown up with this technology don’t realize how lucky you are.
Blue Days, Black Nights is a New York album. It’s got the sound of fall in the village as the air begins to chill; leaves on the sidewalk and trips to the record store as the air begins to chill. Like all good New York albums, it’s got an organic, jazzy feel. It won’t interrupt you if it’s playing in the background and it sounds best in small, cozy places. It’s refreshingly familiar – like an old record from Paul Simon or Randy Newman.
“Caught as You Look Away” is the most satisfying track on the disk, but from the first track, “Underwater Life,” to the brooding closer “Emily,” Blue Days, Black Nights rewards with august vocals, superior musicianship and pensive lyrics. Curl up in your bed in some warm socks and a cup of hot chocolate. The weather is getting cold. If you program your CD player right, you shouldn’t have to get out of bed all day.
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