by Johnny Edson

SHORT CUTS
BY BILL BENTLEY

Johnny Edson, More Than Friends (Ragweed)

Johnny Edson was one of the lead singers in the late, lamented Uncle Uh Uh & the Uh Huhs, and for the past dozen years has been recording solo albums that are quirky in all the right places. They have a breezy rhythm, beautiful melodies and bountiful imagination, albums you can listen to in the foreground or the background, with lines like “I don’t care much for hip hop/and I don’t like rap at all/but I love the sound of your flip flops/slappin’ down the hall.”
Inspired by old-time swing music and new-time raconteurs like Dan Hicks & the Hot Licks, any band that covers “Wolverton Mountain” and writes originals in the same league is someone not to overlook. As a big time bonus, there’s a twenty-song second disc culled from Edson’s first four albums, showing how strong he’s always been.

1. Meditation
   3:34
2. Wabash Blues
   3:38
3. Wolverton Mountain
   3:00
4. Come Back From Nashville
   3:07
5. KaTRaM Boogie
   2:18
6. On Your Dial
   3:15
7. Old Sour Lake Road
   3:37
8. I Know Blues
   1:30
9. The Man You Married
   2:44
10. Waitin' For The Water To Boil
    2:58
11. Father Time
    4:06
12. Nidlet
    2:31
13. Give That Man A Drink
    3:00
14. I'm Breathing
    3:26

1. Prologue To The Canterbury Tales
   2:21
2. She Works Days
   3:04
3. A Man's Gotta Eat
   3:20
4. Barrellin' Down The Road
   3:42
5. The Cows And I
   3:27
6. Gaspergou
   2:50
7. Dog In A Pick-Up
   2:34
8. Annie's Got A Boyfriend
   3:20
9. Two Happy Dreamers
   2:50
10. Judy Judy Judy
    3:03
11. Take Your Time
    4:24
12. Last Tango In Pago Pago
    4:10
13. Mrs. Belmont Of Beaumont
    2:43
14. Boppin' At The Big Oaks
    2:46
15. The Gator
    2:46
16. Refried Jive
    3:00
17. Introducing, My Clothes
    2:22
18. String Swing
    2:24
19. Tiny Flaw
    4:06
20. My Muse
    3:56