back to
Faith and Industry
We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

The Eastern Harmony and Gospel Demonstrator : Outtakes and Demos 2015​-​17

by John Johanna

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      £5 GBP

     

1.
Deep, deep river My home is over Jordan Don't you want to go? Don't you want to go now? If you trust in Jesus' name You'll never be put to shame, No sir. Deep, deep river My home is on that other shore No one can go there for me Got to go there for myself Nobody's gonna turn me around No one's gonna turn me around, No sir. When I was a seeker I prayed night and day; I asked the Lord Help me And he showed me the way He showed me the way It's a deep, deep river My home is over Jordan...
2.
There's a star in Galilee Rolling on Rolling on And that star keeps shining Through the dark And the darkness has not overcome There's a man from Galilee The holy one The holy one And his life is shining Through the dark And the darkness has not overcome You can look at others differently Put your hand in the hand of the man from Galilee You can look at others differently Put your hand in the hand of the man from Galilee
3.
Jesus Will 02:30
I was lost, poor and bare My soul was sinking in a weight of care I couldn't see my way to sail safely through Jesus did; Jesus knew If you're down, in despair Don't forget that God in heaven answers prayer When you can't see a way to get over the hill Jesus can; Jesus will Fire in the East, fire the West Know the man is bound to burn the wilderness He's gonna blow the sun out, turn the moon to blood Jesus can; Jesus could When I die I die When I die I die When I die I die I want him easing by...
4.
5.
Well I never see you See you any more; But I'll fix to see you On the other shore, And I've got his word And I'm satisfied, I've got his word And I'm satisfied; I'll be satisfied The end is coming Coming any day; The end is coming Better watch and pray, And I've got his word And I'm satisfied, I've got his word And I'm satisfied; I'll be satisfied
6.
7.
These, These are difficult times, These, These are difficult times, Don't need a bigwig to read the signs, These are difficult times Difficult Tricky difficult times Freaks on high Trying to lay us low Time for me to roll and go I'm going down south Honey on my midnight run I'm going down south Honey on my midnight run And it looks like my trouble's just begun But I'ma get my work done Difficult Tricky difficult times

about

These songs were recorded during the two years prior to the release of my first record I'll Be Ready When The Great Day Comes (2018), and are the sound of an excited yet somewhat unsure fledgling recording artist finding a path towards his debut album and its 2019 follow-up Seven Metal Mountains.

When it came to putting the albums together, it soon became clear to me that I wanted to move away from the North American and particularly African-American influences these seven tracks evince. So that was why - apart from Deep River, albeit in a different form - they weren't released at the time (or even tried out in the studio in the case of 'Galilee' and 'Difficult Times'). But now the smoke has cleared and I feel they have enough value that it's worthwhile sharing them.

I write these notes the day before the release of this EP and it was about 4 days ago that a lady by the wonderful name of Marleah Isom kindly wrote from the US to tell me that she loved the style of the early version of Deep River, which is still up on Soundcloud. Her message got me thinking and the result is this little collection of early demos and outtakes. And by the way, I have to agree with Ms. Isom! The four track cassette version of Deep River has a spirit that producer Kristian Craig Robinson and I struggled long and hard to recapture in the studio over two years. Eventually we had to concede that lightning wouldn't strike twice and so we tried a different approach to the song (ably helped by the beautiful drumming of The Comet Is Coming's Betamax).

Interesting to relate : the song came to me when I returned home from St. Seraphim's Chapel in Walsingham in 2015, where I had received a blessing from the monk Bishop Kallistos Ware. I remember sitting down and gently strumming the opening chords of A Change Is Gonna Come into a reverb drenched mic (which was my prerequisite tool for songwriting back then) and before long Deep River appeared. It is made up of a palimpsest of traditional folk lyrics, whose beauty and strength helped me sing with a conviction that might otherwise have eluded me. A few days later I stayed up all night on coffee and peanut butter sandwiches and recorded it to a four track cassette machine. It was the first recording of mine that I felt certain would be worth other people's time.

I'm an Eastern Orthodox Christian and these early tracks show a clear desire to communicate my faith in song. By contrast, the finished albums were perhaps more oblique in that regard. I somewhat regret that now so I'm glad of the chance to release these songs here.

The EP is made up of five original compositions and two covers : Thomas A. Dorsey's pre-war standard 'Take My Hand, Precious Lord' and E. M. Bartlett's 1921 'Just a Little While'. Four tracks were recorded at home onto cassette. The other three were recorded to half inch tape by Kristian Craig Robinson at Total Refreshment Centre. 'Jesus Will' and 'I'm Satisfied' ride the hard hitting drums of the Archie Bronson Outfit's Arp Cleveland.

'Difficult Times' closes the collection. And while it's not a gospel song, it seems to me that it shares something of the other songs' mood. So here it is.

Soon I will be releasing brand new music of a very different kind to these initial forays. In the meantime I hope this EP will connect with someone out there.

Thank you for your time. And may God be with you.

John Johanna

Released on March 30/April 12, 2020 : The Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem—Palm Sunday according to the Church Julian Calendar.

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass."

Zachariah 9:9

credits

released April 12, 2020

Artwork by Chris Bianchi.

Photo by Ben Vine.

All songs by John Johanna, except 'Take My Hand, Precious Lord' by Thomas A. Dorsey and 'Just a Little While' by E. M. Bartlett.

'Deep River', 'Galilee', 'Just a Little While' and 'Difficult Times' recorded at home to four track cassette by John Johanna. Vocals, guitar, bass, piano and harmonica by John Johanna.

'Jesus Will', 'Take My Hand, Precious Lord' and 'I'm Satisfied' recorded at Total Refreshment Centre by Kristian Craig Robinson.

'Jesus Will' : vocals, bass and guitar by John Johanna. Drums by Mark Cleveland.

'Take My Hand, Precious Lord' : vocals and guitar by John Johanna.

'I'm Satisfied' : vocals and guitar by John Johanna. Drums by Mark Cleveland.

license

all rights reserved

tags