Guitarist Eric Johnson has had a long and successful career as a vocalist, songwriter and guitarist. He is one of the most highly regarded musicians in the Rock scene, notably being popular for the song Cliffs Of Dover which received a Grammy award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. That alone takes some musical talent. This album, Venus Isle released back in 1996, is his most popular album release to date. It took some presence in the USA Billboard 200 charts, although it did not reach the Top 50 at the time. Still, there is no denying that this album is a much-loved one by fans and musicians alike. Let’s take a listen to this album and we shall hear if it does any justice musically.

Venus Isle begins with keyboards and hi-hats, with some Indian-sounding harmonies and guitar harmonics. Different, all right. This is very deep, imaginative and interesting from the starting point, and it is very artistic. Eric Johnson proves himself to be a master of Psychedelic imagery through music. The sounds on this track are very interesting, different and unique to listen to. The guitar harmonics and processed sounds throughout are super cool indeed. A very lush and interesting piece of music. Soon enough, slow drumming enters and we get underway. Eric Johnson sings sweetly and gently here, with a pleasant and natural-sounding voice present. The guitar playing is as equally as fantastic here, and the music is really awesome to listen to. A great, grand and pretty listen, this is a musical listening experience unlike any other. This is the sort of laidback Rock Music that demands to be heard with eyes closed. The music is a great listening experience. If you hear music as colours, this is a great listening experience at hand for you to enjoy with headphones on. A joyous, David Gilmour-styled guitar solo with a touch of shred is present here. Nonetheless, this is a winner of a song. It sounds dynamic, joyous and interesting throughout. The guitar playing is absolutely fantastic and cements Eric Johnson also as a fantastic musician. This eventually ends with some hi-hats galore, delayed harmonics and other sounds to match this tune perfectly. It segues into the next track.

Battle We Have Won continues the album’s journey very nicely, with some keyboards, melodies galore and some sweet singing by Eric Johnson. This is another fantastic listening experience that just sounds fresh, inspired and amazing. Eric Johnson’s Fender Stratocaster licks are likely inspired by people such as Jimi Hendrix, but by goodness, he pushes boundaries that even Jimi would not have known the likes of decades before Eric Johnson stepped into the musical scene. A great and pretty piece of music that demands great headphones to be heard, the mixture of futuristic sounds and calm singing is truly brilliant here. A fresh and interesting piece of music to listen to throughout. The lyrics are just as nicely written here, and the music within is very detailed, artistic and gorgeous. There are rolling tom-tom drums, backward guitars galore, calm singing and beauty that is rarely matched musically from all genres out there. If you dig concept albums or spacey and texture-based music, this is yours to listen to. A really awesome and dramatic listen is present here. The harp-like melody played throughout is pretty, as are the backwards Fender Stratocaster guitar sounds. This is not unlike Jean Michel Jarre or Tangerine Dream, in a revealing way. Extremely musically intelligent sounds are present throughout. A piano is present towards the end of this mighty piece, and Eric Johnson sings, “Everything will be alright”, followed by glorious backwards guitars. Great listen, it fades out at the end.

All About You is an eight-minute-long piece. It begins with a more traditional setting musically, with pounding drums and chanting. Soon enough, some pleasant Fender guitar-styled licks enter and this ethereal music comes alive. Eric Johnson sings in a high-octave, fluttery voice that sounds unique, awesome and brilliant. This is inner space-styled music that takes you by surprise. Soon enough, guitars enter with some top-notch playing throughout. A really cool and sweet listen, this is calming and soothing music that deserves to be heard by Pink Floyd fans and the like who desire to hear something radically different in a musical sense. Nonetheless, this sounds awesome and fantastic. The guitar playing throughout is also really cool, and the music is of a quality that only a few can reach. Sure, this is a bit more 1980s than 1990s, but regardless, it sounds groundbreaking and fantastic throughout. The atmospheric music from within reveals a purely emotional and interesting mindset that is channelled into the beautiful music at hand. This tune in particular is a bit more song-based than previous songs, but it works just as well. In the midsection are some excellent guitar parts, rolling drumbeats and a sense that Eric Johnson could craft music that is beautiful beyond belief. The shred guitar work in the background is absolutely killer, and it does sound dramatically sweet. This brings a new definition of virtuoso to music, and the sounds and playing are very near perfect for this style of music. Some unique and cleverly placed sounds and sound effects are on the guitars throughout. This is amazing music that is introspective without being gloomy or depressing. In the second half are distorted guitar sounds that just work incredibly nicely. The sounds throughout are not dissimilar in a way to The Beatles Revolver album in that they are revolutionary. Towards the end are some awesome guitar leads and interesting percussion to retain one’s interest. This sounds rather a bit like Jimi Hendrix’s Third Stone From The Sun in a subtle way. This eventually wraps up after eight minutes with a smooth fade out. Excellent.

S.R.V. is an ode to the legendary guitar Stevie Ray Vaughan and has a guest appearance of his brother Jimmy Vaughan on guitar. It begins with some super sweet Fender Stratocaster playing which is totally awesome. This tune is a great instrumental that just works nicely. The band are in complete unison here on their own musical journey, and this sounds brilliant. A wonderful and lively tune to listen to, this is perfect for those times when you need a musical fantasy to launch into. The soloing by Eric Johnson and Jimmy Vaughan are both equally wonderfully excellent, and each solo section complements the other. A unique and excellent listening experience that makes a great deal of sense to listen to, the music present is different. Some awesome high-end guitar soloing is in the second half of this rather (for this album) short track that makes musical joy. Great to hear, even for only three minutes long. Top.

Lonely In The Night is a long piece of over six minutes in length. It begins with violins, and piano and launches into a decent song about being heartbroken in the nighttime. Eric Johnson’s soaring vocal sounds really great here, and he delivers another amazing tune to hear. Great music is here to listen to. This is a Classical Music-inspired Pop symphony that is very different. All in all, this does sound really good though, although perhaps not as mindblowing as other songs before this tune on this album. It does sound very different and inventive, and the guitar playing is fine and sweet throughout, with Eric Johnson soloing away like a real virtuoso. He makes the Fender Stratocaster sing in a special and unique way throughout. A very good listening experience throughout, this is a tranquil and different listening experience that sounds dynamic and interesting. Really awesome music, this is a sensationally great tune to listen to. The soloing, shredding and phrasing on this song are really quite unique. A tremendously interesting and exciting listening experience is present here, and the music is supercharged and different. A great song to hear, even if this does seem a little long in length. Still, the music is decent and impressive enough to enjoy, it just requires a little bit of patience while listening to it. A great tune, it ends with some awesome atmospheric sounds and great backwards guitars. Worth hearing, all the way through to the fade out.

Manhatten of course, refers to the famous area in New York City. It is the most popular piece from this album as well. It begins with a lush Fender Stratocaster playing with a load of reverb and delays onto it. Bongos enter, along with drumming to support this piece. It sounds really great, all the same. This is a unique form of Rock music instrumental that sounds quite unlike anything else. The sounds and soloing on this tune are really excellent, and it encourages one to get deeper into the music. There are organs here as well, adding texture and musical flavour to this instrumental. After some time, some glorious soloing by Eric Johnson is present, and he definitely gives us his all. A really wonderfully unique and interesting flavour is here musically, and points go to Eric Johnson for this. In the second half, there is a minimal musical section with a focus on Eric Johnson’s unique and skilful guitar-playing techniques. A really awesome and top listen, this is exactly where the imagination takes one if really needed. This is exploring the depths of where music can really take one elsewhere. It does sound phenomenally good. There are some subtle whammy bar work and guitar harmonics throughout this piece in the second half, before returning to a more rhythmic guitar section. Eric Johnson is the David Gilmour of the 1990s on this album, and the music present is undeniably cool. Towards the end, Eric Johnson plays some insanely decent and skilful licks to wow you over. This eventually wraps up slowly at the end, a good job indeed well done.

Camel’s Night Out begins with rolling drumbeats, along with distorted guitar. The name of this tune may refer to the super strong and deadly toxic Camel cigarettes (no endorsement here) but we will not really know for sure. In any case, this is a punchy, interesting and driven tune with some awesome guitar playing that sounds very surreal. A worthy and different tune to listen to, this has some interesting styling and phrasing throughout, with the heavily distorted guitar riffing. Some of the playing present is absolutely mental, in a good way of course. A really fine and dramatic listening experience, this sounds very awesome. Eric Johnson shreds away at times in a surprising yet calculated way that is designed to impress and turn heads upon listening. This is a powerful instrumental that sounds really cool and different. This music is intellectual and awesome, through and through. It just takes one by surprise. Eric Johnson rivals other guitarists such as Steve Vai and Eddie Van Halen with some of his unique and manic shredding on guitar on this piece. No doubt he understands music and musicianship through and through on songs such as the ones on this album. The rest of his group play exceptionally well, too. A surprising gem from an album that really deserves more credit than what it receives, Eric Johnson makes for some exceptionally interesting craft. The distorted riffs return towards the end of this song, just as it begins to wrap up. The guitar soloing present is really cool, and a drum solo section concludes this song, with a final bunch of guitars to finish. Awesome.

Song For Lynette begins with some strangely pseudo-Eastern sounding sonics and melodies throughout. Volume swells of keyboards are here, along with some nice acoustic guitar picking. This does sound awesome and really exciting simultaneously. A cool, inspiring and different listening experience. Soon enough, some upbeat and melodic piano enters into the scene. If indeed this is a love ballad, Eric Johnson has nailed romance to a t here. The piano is very lovely sounding. A great listen. Horns enter, and this unique tune gets one uplifted in a very nice way. A good piece of more traditional-sounding music by Eric Johnson, this instrumental is really cool to listen to. A fine and decent tune to go by, this sounds pretty and different. Although this is quite clearly an atmospheric guitar album, this is a different sort of listening experience altogether and stands out from the rest of the cuts. Towards the end, the mellow piano and other sounds comfort and relax you. This is exactly what one needs to hear at their own leisure after a long day at work. Moving and sweet. This is a memorable tune.

When The Sun Meets The Sky is a lengthy piece of music nearly eight minutes long. It begins with an eerie intro that has some air pressure-type sounds, followed by keyboard sounds and odd melodies to boot. This is a trippy, Psychedelic sort of listen at hand. It sounds deep and dramatic. Indeed, if one were in a spaceship headed through outer space, this music would make perfect sense to listen to at that point. Guitars enter, and Eric Johnson gets singing away very nicely. A very, very good listening experience at hand, this is a warped and wonderful piece of music that sounds extremely cool. This is not your typical Heavy Rock song at all. Instead, this is a spacey and atmospheric ballad that, although has some 1980s overtones about it, is cool, calm and innovative in many ways. It does sound great. A pleasant journey through inner and outer space musically, this sounds very human and pretty musically. The chorus is really chilled, and Eric Johnson proves his talent as a musician, singer, songwriter and guitarist. Soon enough, a very Fender Stratocaster-sounding guitar solo emerges through this tune. Proving to be an innovator of how that instrument should sound. Most Rock Music fans and even some Electronic Music fans will thoroughly enjoy this fine music. A really great and inspired listening experience, this blows away all the Van Halen wannabes of the 1980s and points ahead to a new introspective yet upbeat form of music at hand. Great to hear and to listen to, this is flavoursome and unique in its instrumental ways. Some pleasant shredding again is here, and this music does take the listener through an imaginative journey of their own upon hearing this. This is a rare form of music that appeals to the mind, not a dumbed-down form of music that one can mindlessly dance to. This begins to wrap up with a neat instrumental section towards the end which does sound great. To be fair, this is a fairly lengthy listen, but it does retain one’s interest throughout. A sweet and interesting listening experience nonetheless. It ends with some cool singing and guitar work in a lengthy fade-out.

Pavilion begins with some more strange sounds before furious drum rolls enter and this launches into a decent piece of music. Fortunately, this tune is a bit shorter and more focused than the one before it. It sounds pretty cool all the same and has some decent electric guitar parts galore in it. There is some insane shredding throughout, and Eric Johnson proves that being popular doesn’t necessarily equate to being a great musician. In any case, this is a good instrumental in the vein of the other tracks before it. A cool change in tempo and structure throughout makes for a very good listening experience on this tune. Eric Johnson plays some decent guitar work throughout, pointing out that one can alternate between the anti-shred and shred schools of guitar work throughout, blurring the lines between the two of them. In any case, the melodies and playing throughout are really quite nice to hear. In the second half are some interesting and amazing sounds and guitar work that is audio-visually impressive. A great listen, although these guitar-led instrumental-based pieces will not be to everybody’s tastes. Still, this does sound really great. Towards the end are some interesting drum rolls, before this tune gradually begins to wrap up very nicely. A good listen that segues into the next track.

Venus Reprise is the last track on this album. It quickly launches into just that, and has some heroic and interesting guitar work to conclude. This is very interesting and magical music that finishes off a very good album that is quite consistent from start to finish. Eric Johnson’s best album wraps up quickly enough here, and it certainly does have a magical appeal to it. The final guitar parts in the outro here are phenomenal. The album ends here.

This is a very good album that has some of the most innovative sonic landscapes that one can ever come across in Rock Music. The album is a mindblowing listen in many ways, particularly if you can interpret sounds as colour and you hear this interesting album through a great pair of headphones. It succeeds on many levels musically. The only real flaw of this album is that many of the tracks are quite lengthy, Progressive Rock style, and could have benefitted from some subtle editing to cut them down. Should you listen to this album? If you dig soundscapes and guitar-based music, do give it a try. This is one of those albums one can close their eyes and listen to, quietly in their bedroom.

A surrealistic and imaginative adventure through sound.

8/10