5 out of 5

Label: People In a Position To Know

Produced by: (recorded live)

I’m normally against these super duper limited deals, but the whole gist of this series – record it live, cut it right after, hand-craft the artwork – is one of intimacy and uniqueness.  It doesn’t seem to be a jab at collectors so much as the joy of being able to capture such moments, so I’m in support.  Admittedly, it probably helps that I got my hand on one, but this is still just a fracture of a set: 10 songs were recorded, one on each 7″ pressed, and you don’t know what you’re getting when you order.

I ended up getting Erik’s cover of Mr. Kenny Loggins’ Footloose, just Erik singing and strumming on something banjo-esque, and it’s a heck of a lot of fun.  It’s not played for kitsch: Johnson goes all-in, lots of energy, and he keeps the pace throughout.  The recording is kinda quiet, but there’s a blurb of text on this 7″s warning that recording quality is going to vary; turned up, it sounds great and clear.