Comments for Johnston, Freedy, This Perfect World

Though you've gone away/I play your favorite song/In the blue and gold, with your dark glasses on/I always think I see you across the avenue/Walking by where I lost you/It's all I ever do You just walked away/We'll meet tonight, kay/Going against the light, run down in front of me/I always think I see you across the avenue/Someday I'll come to meet you/On the other side/Across the avenue/Across the avenue Though you've gone away/I wear your favorite shirt/Sitting in the sun by the library lights/I always think I see you across the avenue/Someday I'll come to meet you/On the other side/Across the avenue/Across the avenue...

Freedy Johnston is to me the very essence of rock and roll. Why? Because he lays it all down. I am an avid listener to both Can You Fly and This Perfect World. I can close my eyes and place myself in Freedy's vivid pictures. I particularly like his words in "Responsible" off of Can You Fly: "...The streets are slick with dew and motor oil/A girl walks in and out of the morning sun/A barred window reflects a cloudless sky/No blue reaches those eyes..." Beautiful and honest.

This is the perfect album. There is no coincidence that the album is called "This Perfect Album". Because this is perfection Freedy is the unacclaimed genius of our generation. He left off where Cobain began. He is trying to critique the everyday lifestyle of the everyday man. Little does he know, that through his song-writing, that he is gay. That is OKKKOKKKOKK.. I apprecate is homos. Although I hate faggots, Regan is fine with that. At times , I find myself masturbating to homos. Therefore, we must seize the time of gayness. Lets not leave tomorrow what must be done today The power of the homosexual people is worth a dime. Then, we must seize this gay time. That in essence, is what Freedy is trying t to achieve in his homosexually-undertoned album! LOVE, FREEDY'S SOON-TO-BE-FUTURE-LOVER, Regan Rowan! o express

See, us Kanzanz aint all stoopid hiks, y'all.

I first heard "Bad Reputation" at the closing credits of the movie "Kicking and Screaming." It fit the movie so well that I thought it was written for it - I was wrong. Incredible song and a great album. If you like TPW, you might enjoy John Hiatt's "Walk On" or Alejandro Escovedo's "Thirteen Years." Both are also excellent performers and songwriters.

I listen to Freedy for the same reasons that I love to listen to Nirvana, and Cobain in particular -- To hear a man sing so passionately, so unassumingly, so stripped- down and yet so strong is truly moving. The most vivid piece of songwriting and singing I have ever heard. I saw Freedy perform this past summer at Central Park Summerstage in August, about 102 degrees, and his music had the same power over me -- just amazing honesty and lack of pretension. Without a doubt, my favorite performer, and favorite two albums (Perfect World, Can You Fly).

I own all THREE of Freedy Johnston''s albums--This Perfect World, Can You Fly, and The Trouble Tree, his debut album that is unknown to almost everyone. The most amazing part about listening to Can You Fly? is that to raise the money to produce the album, Freedy was force to sell his Kansas farm that his family had worked so hard for so long to keep. On the opening track, "Trying To Tell You I Don''t Know," Freedy comments on this: Well I sold the dirt to feed the band/Falling right through my hands" This theme repeats itself through Can You Fly and even into This Perfect World. Contrary to what other people think, Freedy is NOT gay. Instead he is one of the most powerful, simple songwriters--his lyrics are so straightforward seeming, that the listener really has to hear it over and over again to fully understand what the song is about. If This Perfect World interests you, listen to Can You Fly. If you are totally hooked on Freedy by then, buy The Trouble Tree. It may not be as polished as the other two, but listening to the three really shows Freedy''s progress as a songwriter, especially through adversity. This Perfect World is a must-have. After that, you will be hooked.

Freedy`s new album has a smoother, more polished sound than "Can You Fly". His songwriting talents are readily apparent. His voice - so wonderfully unique - sounds much clearer on this record, and can really be quite lovely, especially on tracks like "This Perfect World". These songs are deceptively simple; you have to listen closely. "Across the Avenue" at first sounds like the typical romantic "Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy dreams of getting girl back," but listen again, and you`ll realize there`s a little more to it than that. When you hear the second verse, "Going against the light/run down in front of me" you realize that he is singing about losing his girl forever - she`s never coming back. It`s a powerful and moving image: seeing your lover run down by a car right in front of you, and later roaming the street where it happened. When he sings "Someday I`ll come to meet you/On the other side", you realize he`s not just talking about going across the street. Passionate and exquisite.

I wish I were talented like this kid. Hell, I wish I had any talent at all.