The Devil Found Work Reviews
Petar Tolich – Music director 88.3 Southern FM Melbourne
“Troubadour Kevin Johnson delivers an album of songs that are akin to a visual landscape.”
Neil Rogers ‘The Australian Mood’ RRR 102.7 FM Melbourne
“Kevin has had an amazing career up to this point in time, full of creativity and great songs – add this new album to the list, a wonderful listen from start to finish.”
Paul Cashmere – CEO NOISE11
“Kevin Johnson Delivers Some Incredible New Music With The Devil Found Work”
Christie Eliezer – Contributing Editor The Music Network
“Australian singer-songwriter Kevin Johnson’s first album in 20 years, The Devil Found Work gets rave advance reviews as his best effort yet while the overseas market is beckoning again.”
Bob Crimeen review from Eyes On Eildon
Remember Rock and Roll I Gave You the Best Years of My Life, the all-Australian ballad that became an international megahit?
And there were so many more, among them Bonnie, Please Don’t Go (She’s Leavin’), Shaney Boy, Over the Hills and Far Away, Scotty, Grab the Money and Run, Man of the 20th Century, Night Rider, and Kedron Brook.
The songwriting pen of Rockhampton native Kevin Johnson kept on creating classic after classic – and his instantly distinctive voice brought them so tellingly to life.
It has been some years since Johnson ventured into the recording studio, and who could blame his legion of yesteryear devotees for believing they would never have the chance to add another album to their collection.
Surprise, surprise! On May 3, this new recording, fascinatingly titled The Devil Found Work (no prizes for guessing it is the launch track of 13), will be available in record stores and via digital download.
And it is another collection of self-penned gems from a hugely gifted artist who deservedly has gained – and retained – global acclaim through half a century.
As ever, the songs selected for The Devil Found Work embrace a range of different styles, and subject matter – rock escapism, ballads, social comment and, in keeping with past tradition, love-filled songs for Johnson’s granddaughters, Lola, Saskia, Emmylou and Gypsy.
He says of the song Lola, “Days of innocence;” of Saskia, “Days of mystery;” of Emmylou, “Days of laughter;’ and of Gypsy, “Days of fun.”
Of the title track, he says: “There is, in all of us, the capacity to make a mistake. And there is an even greater capacity to blame others for it.”
Fittingly, the album also sees Johnson collaborate on several tracks with musicians he describes as being from “the old crew” – keyboardist and organist Wayne Findlay, slide guitarist Kirk Lorange, drummer Russell Dunlop and bassist Ian Belton, plus favourite session musicians, Tim Partridge on bass, and Jim Kelly on electric guitar.
The Devil Found Work should find its way into the collection of every Kevin Johnson fan”.