Welcome to another "Friends of Jack Johnson" post! That guy just has tons of friends that are cool. And not only are they cool, they make great music. (In the near future I'll be posting some artists from JJ's Brushfire label)Donavon Frankenreiter is one of JJ's surfing buddies who has a knack for singing and playing guitar. He's had a few studio albums which are definitely worth checking out. The Abbey Road Sessions is a collection of songs recorded live in concert at Abbey Road Studios. There's a DVD version available as well.
This concert features not only Donavon F. and his talented band, but also some string arrangements and extra background vocalists. The sound of the album has a lot of life, and it features styles ranging from blues jams to slow and easy with a tinge of that mellow-happy sound made popular by Johnson.
My favorite moment on the album is when he introduces the song "On My Mind" by saying it was one of the first songs he ever wrote, and that it's about his wife. Then something about the first line of the song makes me laugh. If I wrote my wife a song and that was the first line I doubt she'd be able to keep a straight face. You'll just have to listen to it.
The song "Call Me Papa" is one of my favorite songs in general, and the arrangement on this album with the strings is even better than the original.
"That's Too Bad" is a funky blues jam with just the right touch of Hammond organ. DF has some nice skills on the guitar too.
Honestly, if I was still pursuing a career in music I'd probably follow Frankenreiter around until he let me join his band as a second guitarist. I dig his style. Plus then he could teach me to surf.
SHOUT OUT: My brother Dan should get some credit here for first introducing me to DF a few years ago. Nice find.
Listen to this album
