Break Me Open by Johnsmith

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Modern Folk | Mature

12 tracks | 49 minutes

Released Feb 2006
on Blue Pine Productions

Click for a 30-second preview. All tracks are 192kbps high fidelity sound quality. Protected WMA $0.77 or unprotected MP3 $0.88.

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sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 05:14 Back to the Mystery lyrics BUY MP3 05:14 Back to the Mystery lyrics "GIFT MP3" 05:14 Back to the Mystery

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:23 Pothole Season lyrics BUY MP3 03:23 Pothole Season lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:23 Pothole Season

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:47 Honest Truth lyrics BUY MP3 03:47 Honest Truth lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:47 Honest Truth

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:53 Cold Cold Ground lyrics BUY MP3 03:53 Cold Cold Ground lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:53 Cold Cold Ground

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:46 Messy Thing lyrics FREE 03:46 Messy Thing lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:46 Messy Thing

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:05 Barefoot in the Dew lyrics BUY MP3 04:05 Barefoot in the Dew lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:05 Barefoot in the Dew

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:35 Silver Creek lyrics BUY MP3 04:35 Silver Creek lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:35 Silver Creek

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 05:03 Love's Not Through with Me Yet lyrics BUY MP3 05:03 Love's Not Through with Me Yet lyrics "GIFT MP3" 05:03 Love's Not Through with Me Yet

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:46 Break Me Open lyrics BUY MP3 03:46 Break Me Open lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:46 Break Me Open

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:32 Box Elder lyrics BUY MP3 03:32 Box Elder lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:32 Box Elder

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:48 21 Miles lyrics BUY MP3 03:48 21 Miles lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:48 21 Miles

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:24 So Here's to You lyrics BUY MP3 04:24 So Here's to You lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:24 So Here's to You

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A fine blend of acoustic originals from folk, to bluesy, from celtic, to americana, from one of America's hardest working troubadors.

Editorial review

Ten songs into Johnsmith's fifth album Break Me Open, the folksinger begins singing "Box Elder" by referring to a Federal Express delivery man. Never mind that the song is one of the few on the disc that Johnsmith didn't write himself, or that it is, as its title suggests, a tribute to a type of maple tree. The intrusion of a corporate mail carrier is a shocking reminder that Johnsmith actually lives in 21st century America. For most of this record, you could imagine that the world he describes is some timeless rural paradise. Johnsmith is a song poet of the open landscape and, not surprisingly, the open road (he claims to play upwards of 150 dates a year, and that takes some traveling). He is a keen observer of the outdoors, whether he is describing a box elder (in the words of L.J. Booth), "Silver Creek," or even "Pothole Season." Naturally, those observations are the outward manifestations of an inner emotional world; the broken streets and winter weather of "Pothole Season" reflect the singer's somber mood, just as "Barefoot in the Dew" expresses a more hopeful one. And hopefulness is the viewpoint he takes toward love in such songs as "Honest Truth," "Messy Thing," and bandmate Darrell Scott's "Love's Not Through with Me," all of which hold out the possibility of romance. Of course, the association of spring with life must be contrasted with the relationship between winter and death, and if "Pothole Season" is about enduring, when Johnsmith comes to write about the death of one of his brothers, he again emphasizes nature and environment, calling the song "Cold Cold Ground" and repeating those words over and over. The music is in keeping with the language and sentiments. Johnsmith augments his acoustic guitar fingerpicking and sensitive tenor singing with a small string band calling upon banjo, bouzouki, mandolin, fiddle, and bass, along with occasional flutes and whistles. If it weren't for Federal Express, this would make for a perfect pastoral portrait. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

Bio / Background

Johnsmith's fifth CD "Break Me Open,” recorded in Nashville, TN, includes a cast of acoustic music’s finest players including Darrell Scott, Tim O'Brien, Stuart Duncan, Byron House, Andrea Zonn, and even a special appearance by Native American Grammy winner Bill Miller.

The songs on Break Me Open find John stretching his songwriting wings. Expressing the harder edges of life and love, these songs span a broad spectrum of genres from folk to blues, from gospel to Celtic. This collection ranges from the spiritual, poetic “Back to the Mystery” to the catchy, earthy “Silver Creek” to the touching tribute “Cold Cold Ground” and the soulful, bluesy title track, “Break Me Open”.

Here's what folks have to say about John and his music:

“Johnsmith is a songwriting machine. ‘Break Me Open’ is yet another well-crafted record. We love it.”

~Minnesota Public Radio,

Morning Show

"John's plays and sings so well you almost don't notice how good his songs are.