The Davey Johnstone Band: Deeper Than My Roots

The guitar voice in Elton John’s band for some 50 years, Davey Johnstone has only released one solo album prior to Deeper Than My Roots and that arrived 49 years ago. This time Davey has kept it in the family, a variety of the Johnstone clan contributing both visually through the album art and instrumentally, while it’s Davey’s 16 year old son Elliott who provides nearly all of the vocals.

The whole tone and mood of the ten tracks and two bonus selections that can be found is very much in the 70s pop-rock vein, a decidedly relaxed smoothness allowing this album to meander in a remarkably natural fashion. In truth, it’s all just a little too laid back for me, with the likes of “Meh Amour� being a fleeting shimmer of clicking percussion and languid vocals from the admittedly excellent Elliott. Proceedings do occasionally shift up a gear or two, the instrumental “Black Scotland� just a smidge more forceful, although even here the atmosphere is more persuasion than insistence. Persuade it does though, and had more of Deeper Than My Roots hit in this fashion then maybe I would have connected with it more readily. However, with the likes of “Walt Dizney� (I’m presuming there’s a Scottish joke in there?) never quite moving beyond wistful and dreamy, and “Boxer In The Corner� another track that seems to wander along its journey rather than striding with any real purpose, while some will find intrigue within these intentions - which it has to be said are excellently performed - personally I need something just a little more forthright to get my juices flowing. That all said, for those who love a sound that harks back to a mellower time, Back To My Roots might just hold enough of that spirit to snag their attention.

Track Listing
1. Go Easy On My Heart

2. One Look In Your Eyes

3. Meh Amour

4. Walt Dizney

5. Melting Snow

6. You Lied To Me

7. Deeper

8. Boxer In The Corner

9. Black Scotland

10. The Final Quarter

Bonus Tracks

11 Here, There And Everywhere

12 All the Time In the World

Added: April 2nd 2022
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Deeper Than My Roots @ Cherry Red
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Language: english

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