Johnny WigWag & the Truthseekers “Heart Full of Soul”
From the upper peninsula of Michigan, Johnny WigWag & the Truthseekers have released their debut album Heart Full of Soul – songs that continue the trajectory of late’s 60s psych rock disquietude and Southwestern eeriness combined together in open, relatable tunes. This band hails from the northern climes where WigWag pens songs in the long shadows of the old iron mining town. Heart Full of Soul is 11 Wigwag originals and 6 tastefully done covers.
In “Searchers Find” there are swells of pedal steel amidst Southwestern anticipation and the concept that “keepers keep.” This is a song about the motivation to keep on searching until you find what you’re looking for. “Aravica” is an instrumental with foreboding southwestern vibes and a touch of accordion in the mix. “Dammit To Hell” is a honky tonk song of getting over that one who did you wrong, in an amusing, tongue-in-cheeky style.
In “Away with You,” there’s heartbreak and that recurs in “Silver City” with a slightly more upbeat approach to the loss.
In “C’mon Wake Up Now, Angelina” we have a song about a lovers’ quarrel in a solid relationship, and in“It’s Not a Sin to Kill a Blackbird” there are memories of a New Year’s Day together and the song is eerily throwback sounding, like a previously undiscovered Yardbirds song.
Two versions of the “Heart Full of Soul” title track, by the Yardbirds, appear on the album: one is the “rave up version – cinematic and dynamic with haunting violin – and the other is the “electric fuzz” version – with electric guitar and introspective vocal reverb.
In addition there are covers of The Monkees “You Told Me,” Johnny Burnette’s “Right Now,” Glenn Yarbrough’s “Baby the Rain Must Fall” and a pretty sounding duet with Sarah Harralson on Johnny Ace’s “Never Let Me Go.” This last one was a duet by Bob Dylan and Joan Baez on Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Review (1975).
Johnny WigWag and the Truthseekers create music that follows in the tradition of the Yardbirds and Cream, with a lower register authenticity and vocals that are a little bit reminiscent of the Mamas and the Papas’ songs, but without all the harmonies. They’ve created a relatable hybrid of the pioneering early dark psych-rock of the late ’60s with southwestern shadowy foreboding and an occasional honky tonk-esque number. It works.
You can find the music streaming and also here on Bandcamp: https://johnnywigwagandthetruthseekers.bandcamp.com and via Raining Pitchforks Productions: https://rainingpitchforks.com/music-2/
Musicians on the album are Gary Carter (Marty Stuart, Pam Tillis, Grand Ole Opry) on pedal steel, Phil Madeira (Emmylou Harris, The Civil Wars, Keb Mo) on keyboards Hammond organ, Mellotron, strings, horns and piano; Deanie Richardson (Patty Loveless, Bob Seger) on fiddle, Scott Joyce (Tracy Lawrence, Blake Shelton) on piano and Johnny Butten (Albert Lee, Charly Pride) on banjo. Musicians from overseas also played on the album: Erik Holmbom (Sweden) on electric guitar; Bart Dietvorst (the Netherlands) on electric guitar; bassist Emanuel Cutrona (Italy) and from England, drummer Jamie Parks on drums and the UAngels Choir on backing vocals.
Accordionist Gary “Doc” Mackender, strings arranger Rita Pfeiffer and vocalist Sarah Harralson, who also helped mix the album and mastered it, all made invaluable contributions to the project.
Johnny Wigwag played various instruments on the record, including electric, acoustic, baritone and bass guitars, banjitar, B3 organ, piano, tubular bells and percussion. He produced and engineered the record, co-mixed with Harralson, designed the album and created videos for the songs, along with Abigail Littrell of Abigail’s Adventures. The album was mastered by Sarah Harralson and Brandon Bankes (Arivaca)