Track Listing

1. Still Rainin'
2. Second Guessing
3. I Am
4. Breakin' Me
5. Wander This World
6. Walking Away
7. Levee
8. Angel of Mercy
9. Right Back
10. Leaving to Stay
11. Before You Hit the Ground
12. Cherry Red Wine

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2943 in Music
• Released on: 1998-10-20
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Amazon.com
One would think that jumping into the pop-rock marketplace after being branded a blues player might confuse a 17-year-old guitar whiz. No way. Jonny Lang, with the lucid advice of ace producer David Z, understands the role of the blues as solid ground for someone who wants to take flight with intelligent, well-crafted music that has a wide audience. His second album's strengths lie with his gruffly appealing singing voice and his lean, razor-edged guitar phrases. The material is solid, with songs that range stylistically from the ingratiating funk number "I Am" (a hitherto unrecorded David Z and Prince composition), to the it-sure-sounds-like-a-rock-hit "Still Rainin'" (complete with thunderous chords and soulful female backup singers), to a griddle-hot take on the late Chicago blues guitarist Luther Allison's "Cherry Red Wine." All 12 songs are of a piece, tied together by Lang's unassailable musical integrity and his freshness of vision. And R&B master guitarist Steve Cropper is on hand in the Minneapolis recording studio to insure the soulful vibe. --Frank- John Hadley

Entertainment Weekly
Lang indulges in some of the hammiest, way-over-cooked vocal contortions heard since the white-blues revival of the late '60s.

Customer Reviews

One of the Best CD's of the Year!
Youth has its own special grace. This is one of the best CD's of 2000 or any year! It's safe to say Jonny Lang is a prodigy, although some credit has to go to producer David Z. There's not a bad track here, but "I Am," (co-written by Prince, David Z, and Levi Seacer, Jr.) "Angel of Mercy," and "Wander This World" are three astonishing standouts. Better still is "Right Back," written by Jerry Lynn Williams and Danny Kortchmar. Even better than that is "Before You Hit the Ground," written by Kevin Bowe and Mr. Lang. And best of all is the brilliant (Bowe/Lang) "Breakin Me," already a radio hit. Discussing blues influences is like peeling back layers of an onion to find a center, but I definitely hear echos of the great Paul Butterfield Blues Band, especially in the drumming and piano arrangements. What pushes Lang ahead of other great guitarists such as Stevie Ray Vaughn and Eric Clapton is his singing voice, reminiscent of Joe Cocker's style. Do we do the boy harm raving about his work at such a young age? If he can withstand the ravages of fame, there's not much telling what this kid can come up with. Get this--it's a masterpiece.

exhilirating peice of blues work for a up and coming star.
This cd marks an astonishment on an ever growing career in blues for a 18 year guitarist from minnasota.He mixes blues with a modern blend of his own,with catchy songs such as (breakin me,second guessing and i am)to the deep song enthusiasm he puts in such great song as the leeve and cherry red wine. He surely will someday follow in a great group of guitarist's such as eric clapton and jimi hendrix he can only get better in time. This cd his second following the prior release LIE TO ME is a 4 star only miscounting for 1 star cause he is just so young but just oh so talented WANDER THIS WORLD is every thing you want in a blues/modern rock compilation so i recommend you buy this for an ever loving blues fan in your home they certainly will enjoy. If this review isn't enough to convince you check out the sample show above to listen to this great young bluesman crank out the rock solid blues.

Beautiful blues rock
Johnny Lang is what--19 here? He's already one of the guitar legends and his voice isn't so bad, either. Admittedly, he's had some amazing help here--David Z produced this CD, but if he didn't have the chops that wouldn't have gotten done.

This is a hard CD to pick a favorite. There's nothing I'd skip over, which is uncommon even for my ultimate favorites. When he belts out the last of "Cherry Red Wine" I've had to just start the whole CD over from the start.

"I Am" is a great soulful song and I can see why so many of the other reviewers have picked it. I keep going back to "Back to the Levee" and "Angel of Mercy" and for the moment, those are my favorites, but that's changed just about every time I've played this CD.

So far, I have liked every single one of Johnny's CDs, looking forward to a long career with a lot of good music.