Johnny Irion – Ex Tempore

Music and life has been all about family for Johnny Irion the past few years, from a 2005 duo album with his wife Sarah Lee Guthrie, tours with her father Arlo. Ex Tempore puts his solo career back in the spotlight, picking up where 2001’s Unity Lodge left off.

While that first solo disc garnered comparisons to Neil Young, this one uses nearly orchestral arrangements to rate a Beatles reference or two, especially on songs such as “Roman Candle”. Young’s influence still shows up on the Harvest-era sound-alike “1000 Miles An Hour”, but Irion expands his repertoire on “Madrid”, with rock ‘n’ roll guitars worthy of Rick Derringer.

All the extra bells and whistles wouldn’t mean much if they weren’t employed in support of some great songs, and Irion delivers there, too, with detailed character studies such as “Good Cry”, the story of a local restaurant owner who’s found “a good way to get it all out” by crying over her daily onion-chopping chore. The occasional solo album such as this may be just what Irion needs to “get it all out,” too.