
This stunning collection of DANIEL JOHNSTON songs recorded by some of his biggest fans should prove to awaken the music world to just how special (and actually alive) he is - contributors include TEENAGE FANCLUB w/ JAD FAIR, EELS, TV ON THE RADIO, BRIGHT EYES, BECK, SPARKLEHORSE, FLAMING LIPS, TOM WAITS, CALVIN JOHNSTON, and more!
Customer Review: Unexpectedly loving it
This is the first review I ever write and what better way to start than with an unrecognized artist. I first heard of Daniel Johnson a couple of months ago when the trailer for the documentary "The Devil and Daniel Johnson" appeared on apple's website. I since then had probably seen that trailer at least 20 times and after all that those views it stills brakes me down and puts me emotional. I have not seen the documentary yet but I ordered this CD a couple of weeks ago and boy was I shocked. The feelings I achieve from hearing his humble recordings are far greater than I expected, it is very hard for me to cry when watching a movie or even hearing a song, but I couldn't hold it with him and I have to admit I cry more than once while going through these songs. If you carefully listen to "Dream Scream" you can hear Daniel breathing so fast that it makes you feel as if he is going to break down in any second. "Story of an Artist" and "The sun Shines down on me" are simply beautiful lyrically and melodically and my personal favorites, but all the songs are great except "King Kong" which in my mind can not even be called a song. Many people would say that he is not a great singer or a good musician and they would be right, but let me tell you this, very few musicians can transmit the type of emotion Daniel can deliver, and that is his true gift.
Customer Review: Buy this CD!
Open it up, take the 1st CD of covers, open the window, and fling it ouside like a frisbee (watch out for neighbors and pets, though.) I agree with others; the originals are great, the covers are lame. Daniel Johnston sings with such honesty and raw, unpolished emotion that hearing a bunch of overproduced rock stars trying to cover them is ridiculous. It's like having a 2-CD set of early, acoustic Dylan and then a bunch of Phil-Specterish producers adding unnecessary and redundant sounds to a CD of covers. Go with the original. (And when I say original, I mean ORIGINAL!)
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