The Very Best of Michael Johnson: Bluer Than Blue

Amazon.com
The second Michael Johnson retrospective (the first was issued by RCA in 1990) includes not only his country-leaning work for RCA, but his late-1970s pop recordings for EMI and 1990s tracks as well. As is common with "best of" compilations, the more recent works toward the end of the record are not technically "hits," as they never charted. Johnson has never been easy to classify, but Adult Contemporary is probably the best bet, and fans of the local lite FM station are probably familiar with "Bluer Than Blue" and "The Night Won't Last Forever." This will be a generally pleasing compilation to Johnson fans, but the classic "Life's a Bitch (And Then You Die)" is sorely missed. --Jason Pascal

Tracks:

Bluer Than Blue
Almost Like Being In Love
This Night Won't Last Forever
The Very First Time
You Can Call Me Blue
I Love You By Heart
Gotta Learn To Love Without You
Give Me Wings
The Moon Is Still Over Her Shoulder
Ponies
Crying Shame
I Will Whisper Your Name
That's That
Roller Coaster Run (Up Too Slow, Down Too Fast)
It Must Be You
One Honest You
Almost Free

Amazon.com

The second Michael Johnson retrospective (the first was issued by RCA in 1990) includes not only his country-leaning work for RCA, but his late-1970s pop recordings for EMI and 1990s tracks as well. As is common with "best of" compilations, the more recent works toward the end of the record are not technically "hits," as they never charted. Johnson has never been easy to classify, but Adult Contemporary is probably the best bet, and fans of the local lite FM station are probably familiar with "Bluer Than Blue" and "The Night Won't Last Forever." This will be a generally pleasing compilation to Johnson fans, but the classic "Life's a Bitch (And Then You Die)" is sorely missed. --Jason Pascal

Customer Reviews:

Mostly eighties pop-country here.......2005-02-21

Michael Johnson is not and never was country singer as such, but it so happened that his normal style of music was not very different from that which was coming out of Nashville in the eighties. So it was that he had a string of country hits in the mid-eighties, culled from just two albums of his own plus one other track. These recordings account for ten of the seventeen tracks here.

Michael is actually a man of many talents, able to sing pop, folk or easy listening music, all of which originally seemed more likely outlets for his talents than country music. The liner notes to the album give an interesting description of his career development but suffice to say that his first significant success was with Bluer than blue, a top twenty American pop hit. To many Americans, this is the song he is best known for. The follow-up, Almost like being in love, made the American top forty. Michael achieved a second top twenty hit with This night won't last forever. Two minor hits (The very first time, You can call me blue) complete Michael's run in the American pop charts.

Finding himself without a recording contract, Michael eventually contacted Brent Maher, who had produced his early hits. Brent told Michael that he was now the producer for the Judds and that maybe country music was worth investigating. Brent was also producing an album for Sylvia (best known for Nobody) and decided that one song was ideal as a duet. So Michael duetted with Sylvia on I love you by heart, which became a top ten country hit. His two pop-country albums (Wings, That's that) followed, nine of their tracks being featured here including a duet with Juice Newton (It must be you).

Michael had two number one country hits (Give me wings, The moon is still over her shoulder) and three other top ten country hits (Crying shame, I will whisper your name, That's that). Another single, Gotta learn to live without you, just missed the country top ten. Nevertheless, my favorite among his songs is one of his least successful singles, Ponies, which was a top thirty country hit. This song is about wild horses and has since been covered by two famous horse-loving country singers, Lynn Anderson and Michael Martin Murphey. Michael's last country single, Roller coaster run, was only a minor hit.

Two songs recorded in the nineties (One honest tear, Almost free) complete an excellent collection.

All you need from Michael Johnson.......2004-05-05

Most of you are probably like me in regards to Michael Johnson, you are a collector of country music and you are hoping to get a good collection with most, if not all of his hits on one disc.

This disc fits that expectation nicely. The only knowledge I have of Michael Johnson before he had country hits is that he recorded "Bluer than Blue."

All the songs here are the original recordings. To be honest, I had never even heard the big country hits before, the only one I remember is the duet with Sylvia. The booklet is fantastic, complete with notes and recording dates.

Bluer than Blue the best.......2002-06-20

Michael Johnson has a very melodious voice. "Bluer Than Blue" showcases his smooth voice. I sing along whenever I hear this song. The rest of the CD shows the versatility of Michael's voice. I highly recommend this CD!

Can't be "The Best" without..........2002-04-03

..."Empty Hearts" -- one of the greatest guitar/vocal pieces ever recorded. Not to mention (but I will anyway) anything from "There Is A Breeze" including the title track, or his take on Jackson Browne's "There's a Train..." or Greg Brown's "Rooty Toot Toot For The Moon".

Just too many good, obvious choices missing, and too much Nashville factory music include to be a good sampling from a guy who started out recording with MN greats like Kottke...

Perfection.......2001-08-06

If ever there was a perfect song, "Give Me Wings" it! This song very eloquently speaks of the perfect love. Michael Johnson has the perfect voice for this song- you can understand every word- he sings as if he's speaking right to you- words cannot describe the majesty of this song. It is perfection.

The rest of the songs are proud companions- especially the hit "Bluer Than Blue". The songs are honest, the songs are fresh and the songs hit home.

I cannot really think of another singer quite like Mr. Johnson. His work is impeccable. This collection will brighten your day!

Music Album:

Music Album