Tracklisting:
01. Change Your Mind
02. Crazay (feat. Sly Stone)
03. Baby Let's Kiss
04. A Better Way
05. Do Yourself A Favour
06. She (I Can't Resist)
07. Addiction
08. Tonite
09. Burn You Up
10. Black In America
***Bonus track: Get To Know Ya
Personnel:
Jesse Johnson: guitar & lead voice
Michael Baker: guitars & vocals
Sonny Thompson, Keith Lewis & Tim Bradley: keyboards & vocals
Gerry Hubbard: bass & vocals
Rocky Harris: drums
William Doughty: percussion
Charmin Michelle & Kim Cage: vocals
Notes:
Recorded at: Jungle Love Studios, Sound Castle & Larrabee Sound, Minneapolis, 1986
Producer: Jesse Johnson
Engineers: Jesse Johnson, Kevin Madela & Steve Hodge
Biography:
Illinois-born funk/soul guitarist Jesse Johnson began playing guitar when he was 15, honing his chops in local rock bands throughout his teens and early twenties. On a friend's recommendation, he moved to Minneapolis, MN, where he became the lead guitarist and a primary songwriter for the city's extraordinairy funk-rock group, the Time. After writing "Jungle Love," the group's most memorable and highest-charting single, Johnson signed a solo deal with A&M in 1984 and released Jesse Johnson's Revue the following year. Shockadelica and Every Shade of Love followed, building on the inventive, elaborate sound he forged with the Time. By 1990 the group reformed and issued Pandemonium, which once again showcased his songwriting and guitar skills. The highlights of his solo albums were collected on 2000's Jesse Johnson: The Ultimate Collection.
By Heather Phares (AMG)
Review:
Mr. Johnson proves himself as a producer, song writer, arranger, musician, etc. on this album-even more so than on his first release. Even with this album, there was still the comparisions between he and Prince. And while some songs, in particular, "Addicttion" and "Burn You Up" sound like songs Prince would have composed, the vast majority of the album tends to veer away from this similarity. The song "Crazay" is an homage to old school funk-so it is very fitting that the legendary Sly Stone makes an appearance on this single. The song "A Better Way" is a blues-tinged track that showcases not only Mr. Johnson's guitar skills, but also his songwriting ability. It also gives a glimpse of the type of composition that would appear on his "Bare My Naked Soul"(1996)album. The acoustic "Black In America" is a well written reflection of the black experience in America. Other highlights include the hypnotic "Tonite", the danceable "She (I Can't Resist)", the reworked Pepe Willie song, "Do Yourself A Favor", "Baby Let's Kiss" and "Change Your Mind". I believe with Shockadelica, Mr. Johnson was beginning his evolution as an artist. An evolution that would come to fruition on his 1996 "Bare My Naked Soul" release.
By Pier
01. Change Your Mind
02. Crazay (feat. Sly Stone)
03. Baby Let's Kiss
04. A Better Way
05. Do Yourself A Favour
06. She (I Can't Resist)
07. Addiction
08. Tonite
09. Burn You Up
10. Black In America
***Bonus track: Get To Know Ya
Personnel:
Jesse Johnson: guitar & lead voice
Michael Baker: guitars & vocals
Sonny Thompson, Keith Lewis & Tim Bradley: keyboards & vocals
Gerry Hubbard: bass & vocals
Rocky Harris: drums
William Doughty: percussion
Charmin Michelle & Kim Cage: vocals
Notes:
Recorded at: Jungle Love Studios, Sound Castle & Larrabee Sound, Minneapolis, 1986
Producer: Jesse Johnson
Engineers: Jesse Johnson, Kevin Madela & Steve Hodge
Biography:
Illinois-born funk/soul guitarist Jesse Johnson began playing guitar when he was 15, honing his chops in local rock bands throughout his teens and early twenties. On a friend's recommendation, he moved to Minneapolis, MN, where he became the lead guitarist and a primary songwriter for the city's extraordinairy funk-rock group, the Time. After writing "Jungle Love," the group's most memorable and highest-charting single, Johnson signed a solo deal with A&M in 1984 and released Jesse Johnson's Revue the following year. Shockadelica and Every Shade of Love followed, building on the inventive, elaborate sound he forged with the Time. By 1990 the group reformed and issued Pandemonium, which once again showcased his songwriting and guitar skills. The highlights of his solo albums were collected on 2000's Jesse Johnson: The Ultimate Collection.
By Heather Phares (AMG)
Review:
Mr. Johnson proves himself as a producer, song writer, arranger, musician, etc. on this album-even more so than on his first release. Even with this album, there was still the comparisions between he and Prince. And while some songs, in particular, "Addicttion" and "Burn You Up" sound like songs Prince would have composed, the vast majority of the album tends to veer away from this similarity. The song "Crazay" is an homage to old school funk-so it is very fitting that the legendary Sly Stone makes an appearance on this single. The song "A Better Way" is a blues-tinged track that showcases not only Mr. Johnson's guitar skills, but also his songwriting ability. It also gives a glimpse of the type of composition that would appear on his "Bare My Naked Soul"(1996)album. The acoustic "Black In America" is a well written reflection of the black experience in America. Other highlights include the hypnotic "Tonite", the danceable "She (I Can't Resist)", the reworked Pepe Willie song, "Do Yourself A Favor", "Baby Let's Kiss" and "Change Your Mind". I believe with Shockadelica, Mr. Johnson was beginning his evolution as an artist. An evolution that would come to fruition on his 1996 "Bare My Naked Soul" release.
By Pier
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