Eric Johnson

Live And Beyond is the first, live album by Eric Johnson's side-project Alien Love Child. Released October 24, 2000 and primarily recorded at a three night stand in January 2000 at Antone's Blues Club in Austin, this album has captured the live context and mastery of an Eric Johnson show.

With production by Eric Johnson and Richard Mullens and explicit mastering by Bernie Grundman, this album reveals the textural layers provided by Bill Maddox (drums) and Chris Maresh (bass). Eric Johnson redefines the live standard of modern guitar playing, clinching signature tone and universal musical ability.

G3: Live In Concert matches six-time Grammy Award nominee Joe Satriani with three-time Grammy nominee Steve Vai, and Grammy winner Eric Johnson. The CD documents the group's 1996 North American tour, and features three tracks apiece by each of the guitarists as well as three no-holds-barred jams featuring all three axe-men. G3: Live In Concert is sure to please all lovers of guitar wizardry. This high-energy CD showcases the eclectic compositional skills of the three men, with tracks featuring everything from pumped-up fusion grooves to funk-infused rhythms and jazz-flavored numbers. Each tune, though, is really a vehicle for the soaring guitar pyrotechnics for which Vai, Satriani and Johnson are famous.

Very few musical artists achieve a true signature style one that makes comparisons to other musicians impossible. But Texas guitarist Eric Johnson arguably comes as close to this echelon as any musician from the past quarter-century. Like fellow Lone Star State guitarists Johnny Winter, Billy Gibbons, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, Johnson blends the rock style of Jimi Hendrix and the blues power of Albert King.

Louisiana slide master Sonny Landreth takes his time between releases – his last studio disc of original material was five years prior to this – but when they arrive, the wait seems justified. For the debut album on his own Landfall records, Landreth calls in marquee name guitarists Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Robben Ford, Eric Johnson, and Vince Gill to bolster the visibility factor. Rather than focusing on guitar duals, Landreth wrote songs that incorporate their styles, and occasional vocals, organically into the material. There are plenty of stunning solos of course, but they are integrated into the tunes that stand up just fine without the six-string fireworks. The album's title is a double entendre as "reach" is a body of water and also describes Landreth inviting his guests to be part of the project.