- BOTTLENECK JOHN - Acoustic Blues & Spirituals

Namely, with this album as well as many times before, Bottleneck John won me over first with his very original approach to music and presentation form. Then there is his totally unpredictable inventiveness, which ignites everything around him. In the end, there is also his honed ability to always gather the best musicians around him and to have everyone play the same film in the studio, so the result can't be bad, on the contrary, each new album always sounds better and better. The performance of this team is so original, expressively colored by traditional and long-forgotten forms, that it simply does not to be believed.

Recommendation: This is definitely not an album for everyone, this is definitely not for those new to the blues, but it would be good to hear where it all came from. In order to listen and listen to this album, you need to have a little more "legs", and all those others, I believe, will literally blow their minds listening to all 14 things from the first to the last. And who knows how many times! "Road Worn" is a true "old school blues" album, which will bring many to their knees with its content and remind them of the days when it was the main focus of interest and listening for all those who love that sound of the past!

Back to the roots

Blues i bara mässingen tog publiken tillbaka till 20-talet.

Han kallar sig Bottleneck John, men heter egentligen Johan Eliasson och bor i Lit utanför Östersund. Han lirar deltablues på ett genuint sätt så som den lät under 20-talet, och han gör det på ett fenomenalt sätt. När han i fredags gästade Perdido Jazz & Blues på Brux, vilket han gjort flera gånger tidigare, öste han beröm över Blueskällarn.

– Ni har Sveriges coolaste blueslokal, den enda riktiga juke joint som finns i landet.

Med sig hade han en uppsättning av sina tjusiga mässingsgitarrer, och även en banjo i mässing. Dessutom en bastuba "som ser ut som om han hittat den i ett dike någonstans" som hanterades av Karl Eneland.

Tillsammans bjöd de två på en riktigt härlig blueskväll, helt unplugged om man undantar den elektroniska tramplådan som Johan höll takten på. Förutom att Johan är en suverän gitarrist besitter han också en riktigt bra bluesröst, nu när Totta Näslund är borta är det nog bara Sven Zetterberg som här i Sverige kan mäta sig med honom.

Roligt var det också att Bottleneck John valt lite mer udda blueslåtar, och även en gammal negro spiritual, som man normalt inte hör på bluesspelningar. Efter "Blues i bara mässingen" tog lokala Temporary Blues Band över kvällen, kanske för sista gången i den här tappningen.

Nils Ågren, 7an.

Johan Eliasson (Bottleneck John)

Johan Eliasson’s not yet famous, but his train has arrived at blues junction! He got off at the station and is waiting to be let in. Open the damned door and get him a seat at the table. The blues from Sweden is here and it ain’t going back.

Perhaps as if to prove the very essence of what this web directory of the acoustic blues is fundamentally about, Johan Eliasson, aka Bottleneck John, is the real deal, playing deep roots, hard-sliding, hard-core, country blues. The blues has traveled far and become an international genre, with devotees and exceptionally awesome players all over the world. This fellow here is as good as it gets. If you listen to his blues without preconceptions, it becomes quickly evident that Elisasson is one of today’s great, albeit unlikely, practitioners of the genre. As many blues musicians from the non-English speaking world have learned, there often is a bit of prejudice to overcome. Somehow, it is easier for people to accept UK blues musicians than those from the continent. Here is a professorial looking white Swedish musician with soul who seems as far removed from the authentic blues experience as it gets, yet he’s got it all going the right way. Perhaps he took the almost farcical stage name of Bottleneck John, as to overcompensate and fit a bit closer into the mysterious blues world, so distant from Sweden. If you believe that musicianship depends on nationality, or that feeling blues music in your soul requires a certain skin pigmentation, Bottleneck John will be an easy target. If, on the other hand, you are open minded to the idea that the blues has set people all over the world on fire, it is undeniable that good music is everywhere, including in this case in Scandinavia, where there is a strong blues scene. And once they get that burning feeling, they are gonna play it and play it well. That requires no apology.

As the name ‘Bottleneck John’ implies, Eliasson’s claim to fame is his fiery slide playing. When it comes to that, he’s a hot licks virtuoso, perhaps on of the top in Europe, and that is saying alot. This Swede can really play the slide guitar! He sings with a rich, soulful deep tenor, and has a propensity for the deep-blues in the traditional realm. This guy has the true-hearted blues!

He just released a fine new CD, aptly named “Northern Heart, Southern Soul” with some very capable Swedish sidemen. Eliasson plays 6 and 12 string acoustic guitars, a resonator, banjo and mandolin on the album. Country blues aficionados will have much to celebrate and Elisasson has made his mark as one of today’s most poignant voices in the genre. The blues suffers from too much repetition and reworks of traditional material, so it is refreshing to see Eliasson write his own material. It may have been wise to boost sales by including a few well-known classics for the comfort of familiarity, but Eliasson seems little interested in marketing. It’s all good, an excellent album, fun and light-hearted, with an easy-going spirit

Eliasson needs to get showcased in the US blues festivals and to get name wider recognition. In the meantime, definitely put Bottleneck John on your list and check him out!

Frank Matheis, www.thecountryblues.com, USA.

"..Quite simply, this is a killer blues album!.." - Kari Nevalainen, Inner Audio Magazine.

"..The spirit of blind Willie Johnson and Son House must surely be watching over Johan.." - Brian Harman, Blues Art Journal.

"..A genuine sensation from the cool north.." -Axel Melhardt, Jazzland, Austria.

"..During the last song the four musicians played all their best. It felt like the whole audience forgot to breathe.." -Christina Pigerl, Mittelbayerische Zeitung, Germany.

"..A complete, talented and generous artist!.." -David Fraternali, Bluescat.ch, Switzerland.

"..Extraordinary singer with a powerful and expressive voice.." -Philippe Le Guennec, Blues & Co. magazine, France.

"..Enslig Mississippi-blues, mästerligt utförd.." -Mattias Pettersson, Länstidningen, Sweden.

"..You’ll return again and again to the ghostly tones of “Blind Willie’s tune” which effortlessly gives Ry Cooders “Paris, Texas” a good run for it’s money.." - Roy Bainton, Blues Matters Magazine, UK.

Artist: Bottleneck John
Title: Northern Heart, Southern Soul
Label: Bark Lake Records BLR 226

For more information go to: www.bottlneckjohn.com

The invitingly soft wailing, almost morose tenor voice of Johan ‘Bottleneck John’ Eliasson is by itself a wonderfully formidable instrument but, when matched with his heartfelt and passionate approach to his music and the peerlessly intricate delicate dexterity that he shows with both resonator and twelve stringed acoustic guitars his performances become breathtaking. Born and still residing in the small town of Lit in the delta region of deepest Sweden; where, from the age of three Johan was encouraged by his grandparents and their friends to listen to Swedish Folk tunes, Spirituals and Gospel.

It is the combination of these various types and styles of music that led him to discover the richness and wonder of the down-home, rural and country blues that was not only hugely popular but was also found in great abundance in the twenties and thirties in and around the delta region.

Johan has nurtured and honed his incredible talent to such a degree that you could be forgiven for mistaking his original deep country blues recordings for the genuine article, not, that any deception is intended. The inclusion of period instruments such as the calming sound of the tuba merely accentuates the period feel to the music.

Throughout the sixteen numbers here, Johan effortlessly manages to capture intense emotional highs and lows, which range from happy go lucky foot-stomping goodtime music and enjoyably solid crunching slide, to stark images of sadness and despair which exude more than a palpable sense of loneliness and desperation. Nonetheless, this is a cracking album and should grace anybody’s collection.

The spirit of blind Willie Johnson and Son House must surely be watching over Johan.

Recommended!

Brian Harman, Blues Art Journal.

"..Eliasson has made his mark as one of today’s most poignant voices in the genre.." - Frank Matheis, thecountryblues.com, USA.

Wist hij ons vorig jaar nog te paaien met zijn project BJ & The Hound Dogs en de daarbijhorende release Howlin’ The Blues ,slaat hij ons nu murw met zijn nieuwste soloworp: Northern Heart, Southern Soul.

Een zalig album heeft BJ gemaakt, aangrijpend, soulvol en met een expressieve stem.
Sluit je ogen en je zou zweren dat je naar een doorleefde, oude zwarte Mississippi Blues meester zit te luisteren.
BJ doet op deze release een meesterlijk zet door zijn “je bij de keel grijpende songs” wat af te wisselen met folky tintjes er door te weven..hier en daar een streepje viool, mandoline, banjo, kazoo.

Alles meesterlijk gebracht, we gaan niet alle 16 (!) door hem zelf geschreven nummers gaan bespreken , want het ene hoogtepunt volgt het andere op, meer dan 66 (!!) minuten ga je mee op zijn trip door traditionele, akoestische blues.
Zijn stijl kan je wat vergelijken met Son House, de invloeden zijn uiteraard Robert Johnson en Blind Willie Johnson maar wie werd door deze heren niet beïnvloed kan je stellen. Wat ons het meest van al nog imponeerde is dat zijn songs gerust tussen die van de aangehaalde meesters mogen plaatsnemen.
Op deze release start een song met het aanslaan van een tractormotor, we zeggen niet welk lied omdat we graag zouden hebben dat je naar ‘s mans samples zou gaan luisteren (link)...Normaal gezien zijn we niet zo onder de indruk van dit soort speciale effecten maar het werkt hier zo illustrerend...Trek mee de desolate velden in , laid back, en geniet...

Bottleneck John, with your permission hereafter referred to as BJ, recently watched a few Belgium gigs go up in smoke due to the eruption of an Iceland volcano (I don’t dare to pronounce the name). But no sobbing, he’ll be back. Just check Rootsville’s unsurpassed concert calendar now and then and don’t miss him because BJ is good… Really good!

He teased us last year with his project BJ & The Hound Dogs and the implemented release of Howlin’ the blues, this time he knocks us out with his new solo release: Northern Heart, Southern Soul. BJ has made a delightful album, poignant, soulful and with an expressive voice.

Close your eyes and you could swear you’re listening to a weathered, old black Mississippi blues master.

On this cd BJ makes a masterly move by weaving some folky shades through his “catch you by the throat” songs, with a dash of violin, mandolin, banjo, kazoo. All brought masterly, we’re not going to talk over all 16(!) self-written songs because one highlight follows after the other, you’ll join him for over 66(!!) minutes on his trip through traditional, acoustic blues. His style can somewhat be compared with Son House, influences of Robert Johnson and Blind Willie Johnson but one can state: who was NOT influenced by these gentlemen.

What impressed us most is that his songs fit easily between those of the masters mentioned above. On this release one song commences with the starting of a tractor-engine, we’re not saying which song because we like you to listen to this man’s samples(risky)…Normally we’re not very impressed by such special effects but here it works so illustrative…Wander into the desolate fields, lay back and enjoy…

" I was certainly impressed with this set. Some enterprising label should certainly pick him up and put his music on general release. " -Norman Darwen, BluesArt Journal, Austria.

" Able to bring you instantaneously to the moistness and heat of the clubs of the south of the USA, Bottleneck John creates a strange atmosphere once his CD is placed on the turntable.. One feels plunged into an old black and white movie.. " -Fred Delforge, ZicaZic Music Magazine, France.

" It’s hard to describe how strong and great his blues feeling is.." -Mladen Lončar, Rock Oko Radio, Croatia.

" Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel" really opened my eyes to the power that is the voice of Bottleneck John. Not since Paul Robeson have I heard someone master this song with a vocal effort that is nothing less than thunderous. If there was ever a poster child for how this form of music should be done then look no further than Bottleneck John." -Steve Landy, Black Cat, USA.

" This voice has an enormous volume and rich expressiveness not only for ambitious spirituals like I woke up this Morning or Sweet Chariot but also by fast songs like Talk to me baby or an expressional version of Ray Charles Georgia on my mind.." -Oliver Hochkeppel, Sûddeutsche Zeitung, Germany.

"..don't know what to say... Your CD blew me away. I'm sure that God loves the blues and this is the reason he gave you such a voice, just great. Together with intense slide playing you created a time-travel machine that took me on a journey to the Delta of 1920s. I'm very impressed!.." -PD, Poland.

" The most exciting artist of the year, Johan Eliasson, who sings with, most likely, the blackest voice in Sweden and plays slide guitar in the same eerie haunted way as Blind Willie Johnson.." -Swedish Radio P4 Värmland.

" He can create a mood. If you close your eyes he'll take you somewhere else man. Not many people can do that!!! " - Ed Pavy, Canada.

Here's an article from a morning paper, nearly one million readers every day..

En artikel från tidningen Örnsköldsviks Allehanda!!

Historisk bluesresa

"..Jouer le blues acoustique du delta du Mississippi quand on est originaire de Suède est un exercice plutôt original mais qui peut s’avérer payant dès lors que la manière de le faire est sincère et que le résultat colle au plus juste au genre recherché. Affichant une voix qui n’est pas sans rappeler celle de Son House et un jeu de guitare digne d’un Robert Johnson ou d’un Muddy Waters, Johan Eliasson n’a en rien usurpé son surnom de Bottleneck John et s’il a déjà eu la chance de jouer dans des shows télévisés devant près d’un million de personnes, il est un des animateurs imperturbables des juke joints de la région d’Östersund … On le découvre au travers d’un ouvrage hors commerce qui fait office de carte de visite …

Capable de vous plonger instantanément dans la moiteur des clubs du Sud des USA, Bottleneck John tapisse la pièce d’une atmosphère un peu étrange dès lors que cette rondelle prend place dans la platine. On se sent plongé dans un vieux film noir et blanc où les fantômes hantent les pianos et où des danseuses un brin dénudées aguichent le client pour le pousser à la consommation. Rien n’est laissé au hasard, jusqu’aux craquements vintage qui rappellent les 78-Tours d’époque usés jusqu’à la trame … Ajoutez à cela que non seulement le jeu du bonhomme qui excelle en slide mais aussi sa voix particulièrement riche sentent bon l’écurie et que l’ensemble tourne aussi bien sur du blues roots que sur des influences gospel et même barrelhouse et vous tombez immanquablement sur le cul grâce à des pièces sur lesquelles ont jurerait entendre Charley Patton ou encore Blind Lemon Jefferson. Bête de live, Johan Eliasson se produit en solo mais aussi en duo et même en formation complète et fait mouche à chaque fois, que ce soit dans des concerts privés chez les particuliers, dans les églises, dans les bars et même dans les écoles où il aime à partager sa connaissance du blues ou plutôt des blues avec les élèves … Il suffit de poser une oreille attentive pour être convaincu que l’essayer … c’est l’adopter ! Chérie, devine qui vient dîner ce soir.."

"..To play the acoustic blues of the Mississippi delta when one is originating from Sweden is rather original but it can prove to be worth while since the manner of making it is sincere and that the result fits so well in the genre.

With a voice sounding like Son House’s and a guitar playing worthy of a Robert Johnson or Muddy Waters, Johan Eliasson truly lives up to his nickname of Bottleneck John and he’s already played in front of nearly a million of people on TV shows, he’s one of the famous players of the Juke Joints in the area of Östersund... This man with the strings which cry the blues have a secret dream: to come to play in France! We discovered him through work of exceptional trade which acts as his calling card... Able to bring you instantaneously to the moistness and heat of the clubs of the south of the USA, Bottleneck John creates a strange atmosphere once his CD is placed on the turntable.. One feels plunged into an old black and white movie where ghosts hauntingly play the piano and where almost naked women seduce the customers to make them drink more. Nothing is left to random, there’s even the cracking sound of the 78 RPM vintage record player..

Add to this the man’s excellent slide playing and his incredible voice and as the CD unit turns out the blues roots with gospel influences and even barrelhouse you fall inevitably on the bottom thanks to the music where we would swear to hear Charley Patton or Blind Lemon Jefferson. A beast of the live music stage, Johan Eliasson performs solo but also in duo’s and even in full bands, in private concerts, in the churches, the bars and even in the schools where he share his knowledge of the blues with the students.

It is enough to listen attentively to be convinced that when you’ve heard him... You’d want to adopt him! Darling, guess who comes for dinner this evening..."

"..If you went down to Cafe Pegasus last saturday, you felt like starting out from the neighbouring aeroplane-repair factory on a long, long trip. Touching spirituals and raw delta-blues like from New Orleans or Texas filled the hall. The guy, who is crying his soul out during his songs and playing the reso-guitar like the old masters, isn´t from the southern states of America but from the north of Europe.

The Swedish Johan Eliasson, from a little town named Östersund shows – something only possible in music – that you don’t have to be a coloured person or even be in the USA to have the blues and to play it authentically.
Rudolf Spindler was told about this man, nick-named Bottleneck John, through a reference and became so enthusiastic, that he decided to set up a small club-tour through Bavaria for him. Like in Abensberg, Landshut and other places the numerous audience in the Pegasus can be happy about a discovery!

The tall of stature, mid-thirty Eliasson is a real specialist in his music. The learnings that he made in Sweden, is no different to the way of the North-American musicians. As a child Eliasson began to sing, at first Bellmann and other sensitive Swedish classicals. Soon you found him in gospel-choirs and there he picked up his preference and destiny. Later he also started playing in some R&B-bands, and now his heart always beats for the acoustic guitar blues.

The passionate collector (vintage and reso-guitars) not only shows considerable abilities by playing bottleneck on his, for slide-tone tuned, Amistar´s, but also a huge voice. This voice has an enormous volume and rich expressiveness not only for ambitious spirituals like “I woke up this Morning” or “Sweet Chariot” but also by fast songs like “Talk to me baby” or an expressional version of Ray Charles “Georgia on my mind”. With his fellow Swede, Mattias Nordqvist at the piano, Eliasson has by his side an equal musician in the band, he always gives him enough room to play some solos and syncompated escapades. The same goes for two other guys in the quartet. This is a praise for the young drummer Stefan Ebn, and only natural for the bass-veteran Gary Todd who has played with Don Ellis and numerous of jazzbands.

Four authentic musicians, by which classics like Robert Johnsons “Crossroads” come fast and relaxed at the same time and the groove is still going on til the end. Soon Eliasson goes on his his first US-tour, and then some people will be surprised, because this Swede lets some more established blueser’s look “very old”.."

Here's a really, really nice review on one of my Copenhagen Blues Festival gigs..!!

When Johan Eliasson stopped talking and he let "Bottleneck John" sit down...well... magic happened.

I don't how, but suddenly the reincarnation of some now long dead Mississippi delta bluesman was playing his Amistar Reso-Phonic guitar like it was an extension of his being... an appendage of his soul, a part of his being.

And when he sang it was like some alien's mother ship had tractor-beamed that 35 year old Swedish born Johan Eliasson into its evil airborne lab...scraped out Johan and stuffed him with the insides of an old black man with bad teeth...fresh from a full day of back breaking pickin' in the hot and dusty cotton fields.

[Now listen readers, I know what I'm talking about: Born a mile and a half from the corner of Beale and Main Streets in Memphis Tennessee, I grew up in a house less than 200 meters from a cotton field in West Memphis Arkansas. Hey, I know a little something about about cotton sack breaking and acking back, toothless black men and their blues--at least I have seen it.]

Real blues...the stuff that comes from the heartache and pain of real life in the fertile fields of the broad delta of the mighty Mississippi river back during those terrible times of inequality. John's were REAL blues, or a so close substitute that it was impossible (for me) to tell the difference. "Bottleneck John" is not some slick, button-downed studio hawker with a digitized, synthesized, commercialized and focus group selected "unique and marketable sound".

Nope, this is like what Robert Johnson actually played on the front porch of some Mississippi River delta grocery store, while sittin' in a rocker and singin' the roots of what has today become "The Blues".

But, Robert Johnson was not in Copenhagen that Friday night--this was "Bottleneck John", and when I closed my eyes it became so real that I could almost hear the pops and scratches on the records of the 1950s...

"..It's as if Son House's voice has come alive again. Deeply moving!.." - Don Hooper, Unplugged Records, USA.