Reviews


Wonderful tunes Johnny! Right up my alley! Smooth and accomplished. Well done!
Alan K
Toronto, Ontario
Canada


I have the CD. Beatles and Badfinger for sure, but influences only, not a rip off. There is a "basement tape" feel and production quality of some of the tracks.
I personally love hearing the pub sounds in the background on a few of the songs. Music ought to be freer, less produced sometimes, especially Rock'n Roll.
Nat W
United States


It's been a while since I've heard some good straight up rock n' roll, Home Tonight and Please Be Mine are fine examples of that.
I also luv that jangly Byrds feel to Little Cindy.
You've got choppity chops!
Wayne
St. Catharines, Ontario
Canada


Brilliant! I've loved Johnny Moondog's music for better than 10 years! The digital remastering on this CD makes it all sound so good!
Sláinte!
Le grá go deo,
Siobhán M
Galway, Ireland


I accidentally discovered CD Baby and stumbled on Johhny Moondog. I sampled all the cuts and decided I would like to have this CD in my collection. Since the mailman delivered it last week, I have played the entire CD 6 times. It is a real jewel, love the songs, style, and lyrics, it reminds me so much of my earlier days. This was a real treasure to find, hope to hear it live in the future. Will be keeping my eyes and ears on Johnny Moondog. Best of luck Johnny.
George M
West Virginia


At last!!! The real rock 'n' roll I've been craving. This CD is a masterpiece. Thank you, Alan and company for the REAL stuff!!! Keep em' coming!!!
Brigitte T
Cherbourg, Normandy, France


I want to warn the reader right from the start that this review is probably a little biased. I say that because I have very close ties to the album. As a matter of fact, the only one with closer ties would be Mr. Moondog himself.
However, I did hear most of these songs as a completely objective listener at first. You see, I was given a CD that had all but 6 of the tracks now on A Retrospective just to see what I thought. The very first song on there - as is the same with A Retrospective - was a catchy little number called Home Tonight. Something about the song's simple hook really grabbed me right from the start. As the CD progressed, I was enjoying the throwback-to-60s-rock/pop music as well as the more rockin' and/or bluesy tunes.
So when Mr. Moondog told me he wanted to release an official CD of some of his 30-year recorded history, I wanted it to sound as clean as possible. Having some remastering skill, I asked if I could take on the project. He was more than happy to oblige.
This was no easy task. I soon learned that several of the songs on older CDs were subject to either lossy compression, an overall muffled sound, or pitch problems. So I started completely over with the cassette masters (the original reel-to-reels are long gone, sadly), and "spitshined" these tracks as best as I possibly could.
In some cases, this means that you'll hear a bit of tape hiss. I decided to keep the hiss for a couple reasons. For one, digital noise reduction technology is still pretty limited, and it was a trade-off between amount of hiss and amount of treble. For two, this is meant to be kind of a "garage" album, and therefore doesn't need to be super-polished.
I found myself going through the cassette masters (and, in one case, a CD-R master) with a sense of anticipation, as if I was about to hear some of my favorite songs for the first time all over again. There's just something about these songs that's really freakin' catchy, and it makes you wanna hear 'em over and over. A few of my personal favorites are Home Tonight, Andrea, Little Cindy, and It's OK, I'm With the Band. I would've also said Erin Leigh, but since I programmed the piano on that one, that would just be unneccessary bragging.
All kidding aside, if you're in the market for some good rock 'n' roll, pick yourself up a copy of Johnny Moondog: A Retrospective. Bands like REO Speedwagon could've learned a thing or two from Mr. Moondog!
Tim C
New Port Richey FL


Johnny Moondog: A Retrospective has love, loss, politics, pretty girls, fun, and a dog. Good rockers, catchy pop, nice ballads. It also gives us a glimpse at the 30 year course of writing and recording maturity of an otherwise unknown rocker. A must for any indie rock fan.
Stewart A
St Petersburg FL