The one man and his guitar singer songwriter lives still. This collection from, I think, Hastings-based Johnson has some promise but also a great number of flaws.
Obviously a man who has been around the block more than a couple of times, the first song is a simple ditty about “a man walks into a pub, and smiles”, the bonhomie of the social establishment. Hmm… The next few appear to have been inspired by some time in Paris and has a few too many references to boulevards and names philosophers by first names only – a bit elitist especially when I can’t work out who they are…
Robb is undoubtedly a good, finger-picking guitarist, with some good lines (“somewhere else the work gets done, 18 hours a day, there’s a pile of garbage that’s gets closer every day”) and a heart in the right place. He tackles politics with a few satirical swipes but it’s not quite Billy Bragg – ‘The Justice Bus’ just gets embarrassing although the cover of the Clash’s ‘Stay Free’ hints at some hidden depths.
File under “possible good pub gigs”.