Freedy Johnston – Live at 33-1/3

Some singer-songwriter types truly are storytellers. Others specialize in placing one perfect couplet in each song. Then there’s Freedy Johnston, who can often tell a story, or at least create the intricate framework for one, in the cozy confines of that perfect couplet.

This new disc was recorded live at Brooklyn’s 33-1/3 recording studios. It leads off with “The Mortician’s Daughter” (originally on Can You Fly), which in turn begins with one of those monumental pairings: “I used to love the mortician’s daughter/We drew our hearts on the dusty coffin lids.” Just sixteen words, but they promise a poignant love story complete with interesting characters and an unusual setting, not to mention foreshadowing, metaphors, and all that other good stuff.

Last year’s Blue Days Black Nights, a T Bone Burnett-supervised affair, was recorded darn close to live in the studio, making this totally live approach a next logical step. The commodious twin-guitar work from Johnston and accompanist Cameron Greider forms the perfect backdrop for Johnston’s melodic listener-participation tales. For good measure, there are covers of “Wichita Lineman”, the Hollies’ “Bus Stop”, and Cole Porter’s “Night And Day”, plus a new song called “Radio For Heartache”. But, Freedy, you had me at “dusty coffin lids.”