Album Review – Johnny Falstaff – “Lost in the City Lights”
What has every good country music fan crashing silly little sites like Saving Country Music on a regular basis? It’s the hope of discovering some piece of music or a performer whose quality far outpaces the popularity it enjoys, or in many cases, doesn’t. Johnny Falstaff is just that kind of guy, where a cavernous gulf exists between how many people know about his music, and how many should. Even though the name might ring slightly familiar since it’s shared with a once popular Midwestern beer, it’s less possible you’ve heard the music itself.
But don’t shake your little balled-up fists at Nashville for Falstaff’s relative obscurity, because it’s not entirely their fault. Born in Alice, Texas, and cutting his honky tonk teeth in the Houston area including in the band The Sundowners, Falstaff eventually fell in love with a sweet little Fraulein in the eastern part of Germany, and relocated there permanently. Not particularly known for being a haven for honky tonk music, it’s from there where Falstaff does his best to get the word out despite the distance from country music’s home, returning to the states a couple times each year to tour as best he can.
Now that we find ourselves in the throes of the streaming era, perhaps it’s time for Johnny Falstaff to finally enjoy the attention he deserves. His latest album and first in six years called Lost in the City Lights is as good a place to start as any. Loaded with twangy Telecaster and succulent steel guitar, Johnny Falstaff has no governor on the amount of twang he’ll try to cram into a composition. This is an unapologetic honky tonk project, great for scootin’ boots across wooden floors, downing swill, and dodging flying beer bottles and fist fights.
From the opening phrase of the title track, you know you’ve found what your honky tonk heart is yearning for. But even though Falstaff can crank the twang and croon out those beer-soaked honky tonk numbers as good or better as any, he steers clear of becoming a one-trick pony on Lost in the City Lights by getting a little cosmic too. Not afraid to let loose of the tethers of traditional country, yet still hold on to his roots, he takes you on a few little spins into the ether.
From the trippy “Goin’ On A Trip,” to the 70’s country rock of “Jenny in the Sun,” finding unusual cord progressions to mix with hard country instrumentation into a strange brew of whiskey and psychedelia is something Falstaff loves to screw with.
But don’t worry, if that’s a little too far out for you, Johnny brings it back to earth with arguably the best track on the record, the fetching “Move A Mountain” that would have been a mega hit of the country music fringe era if it had been released back then. “Tonight” adds a little bit of old school rock n’ roll to the Falstaff resume, making Lost in the City Lights quite diverse for an otherwise honky tonk country project.
Some of Johnny Falstaff’s previous records had a few inconsistencies in the production that got in the way of what was otherwise great country music. He avoids those issues on this new album recorded mostly in his home studio in Dresden, Germany, with the prolific Tommy Detamore joining him on steel guitar. The vocals on the song “Constant” may be a little too breathy for some as he strains a bit at a Sun Studios vibe. But overall, the record has way more hits than misses.
Hanging out in Germany and refusing to compromise his music to current trends or the ills of the music business has kept Johnny Falstaff once removed from the ears of many. But with Lost in the City Lights, Falstaff can, and should find the audience for his music he’s deserved all these years, and thirsty listeners will find that country music gold they crave, and have difficulty locating.
1 3/4 Guns Up (8/10)
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RD
February 28, 2020 @ 8:49 am
Looks like he could play Jerry Reed or Bo Hopkins in a movie.
Kevin Mayfield
February 28, 2020 @ 9:21 am
Wow, he’s the real deal. When you said he packed the twang in, I wasn’t expecting his singing tone to be as smooth as it is.
And I’m loving the prominence of the steel.
albert
February 28, 2020 @ 9:26 am
i want THIS to be playing when I put my car radio on a COUNTRY station .
this is the music that folks in the clubs mean when they request COUNTRY music regardless of the demographic . this is what they can and want to dance and sing to . there’s so little club music in the mainstream .
i’m not saying COUNTRY music should all be dance hall and club music . but if it isn’t could it please be a well-crafted mature lyric that’s actually ABOUT something and SOUNDS like it should be on a COUNTRY station ..or stream ? oh …and could it have a melody ?
this is some nicely written and recorded stuff …clean production …..solid vocal ….smooth rhythms…..
X
February 28, 2020 @ 9:46 am
COUNTRY
Kevin Smith
February 28, 2020 @ 9:34 am
Like Trigman, I too saw Falstaff at Ameripolitan this year. Last Sunday to be exact. He’s really that great. Tall guy, and he’s got some real presence onstage. Reminded me of Dwight Yoakam but with the lead guitar ability of ol Pete Anderson. He shreds on that Thinline Telecaster, and he goes back and forth between hardcore honky-tonk and swinging rockabilly. The two songs here don’t show how great his baritone voice really is, but live , it grabs you hard. He should be a huge name but for the fact he lives in Germany. Definitely one of the exciting acts we saw at Ameripolitan.
Daniele
February 28, 2020 @ 9:40 am
I like this guy’s music and my wife is also german so i have to root for him.
SG
February 28, 2020 @ 9:43 am
I found this site mentioned on Facebook, and since I watched the ACMs last year I’ve been meaning to check out some country. So I didn’t read your article, and even though it’s not TikTok, I decided to lower my standards and watch your boomer YouTube video.
You call this country?? I see no techno dancing flashy suave Australians, boy bands or disco horse songs. And what’s with the hat? Was it Halloween when they made that video? And how am I supposed to twerk when instead of a beat, there’s some guy trying to take the job away from a hard working drum machine company? News flash basement dwellers, this isn’t country. 2 soy lattes down.
T-grondo
February 28, 2020 @ 11:24 am
SG….
AND….no mention of “Her tight blue jeans” or “Pick up truck on a red dirt road” !!!
AND….where’s the required rapping interlude, Fer Christ Sake…???!!!???
With songs like these how are the girls suppose to…”Put your hands in the air, like you just don’t care…!”…???????? SMH……….
SG
February 28, 2020 @ 11:52 am
No hipster eye candy boyfriend material, no glistening arms, no skimpy outfits. It’s not country, like, at all. Disavow. Resist.
Bill Wood
February 28, 2020 @ 9:57 am
Wow, this dude is the real deal. And yes, this is EXACTLY why I visit this site so often. Thanks Trig!
Matt F.
February 28, 2020 @ 10:26 am
His 2014 album, “Metro-Billy,” also is very good. Looking forward to checking this one out.
Cackalack
February 28, 2020 @ 10:49 am
Trig do you know the background of/what led them to choose the name “Sundowners?” Because that strikes a real nasty chord, and I don’t wanna listen to what I’m sure is great music till I get the connotation out of my head.
Blagoye
February 28, 2020 @ 11:18 am
Blagoye = shit at using reply button
FEBRUARY 28, 2020 @ 11:17 AM
Maybe because he looks confused when singing? or maybe his music is so good, it will snap you out of your confused state and straight into a bottle of whiskey for some clarity?
Enjoy the music!
Trigger
February 28, 2020 @ 11:19 am
I don’t know. But having met this guy, he’s not a Klansman. It was a named used a quarter century ago. I wouldn’t concern myself with it.
Cackalack
February 28, 2020 @ 12:15 pm
thanks!
T-grondo
February 28, 2020 @ 1:46 pm
Cackalack….
I don’t get this Klan/The Sundowners reference….what do you mean ?
Cackalack
February 28, 2020 @ 3:33 pm
A sundowner, in my local parlance, refers to someone who might support or enforce a sundown town, which is a place where black folks staying after dark is a dangerous proposition. With the Klan marching again in my neck of the woods, my race-dar is maybe a little overactive at the moment.
Trig you can delete this string if you’d like, I don’t wanna derail discussion. I quite like this album, though listening to it I kinda wish John Howie Jr was singing it.
Trigger
February 28, 2020 @ 3:38 pm
Cackalack,
I understand the concern. I brought up this very concern when Tim McGraw released a record called “Sundown Heaven Town.” But that had “Sundown Town” right in the title. Nonetheless, I don’t think it was intentional. “Sundowner” seems to be a much more varied term.
RD
February 28, 2020 @ 11:26 am
Seriously? Maybe he named it after a horse trailer. With this post, we have officially run out of problems.
Blagoye
February 28, 2020 @ 11:46 am
ohh and here I was thinking he was talking about Sundowner’s syndrome…..how naive of me.
Blackh4t
February 28, 2020 @ 12:59 pm
Sundowner in.Australia is what you call a hobo. They turn up at sundown looking for work and a place to stay.
Generally only found in older books and country songs.
Cackalack
February 28, 2020 @ 3:27 pm
Huh good to know.
Blockman
February 28, 2020 @ 11:20 pm
Have you tried Google before this dumb response?
‘Noun. sundowner (plural sundowners) (Australia, obsolete) An itinerant worker, such as a swagman, who arrives at a farm too late in the day to do any work, but readily accepts food and lodging.’
That took me all of 3 seconds . It’s like y’all looking for any reason to be outraged and offended. Gordon Lightfoot has a record called Sundown. Do you need his full personal and family history for the last 60 years before you can play one of his songs? Good grief.
Corncaster
February 29, 2020 @ 10:36 am
A Gordon Lightfoot song?
I still like that song.
Blagoye
February 28, 2020 @ 11:17 am
Maybe because he looks confused when singing? or maybe his music is so good, it will snap you out of your confused state and straight into a bottle of whiskey for some clarity?
Enjoy the music!
Nicolas
February 28, 2020 @ 11:24 am
I’m a great fan of Johnny Falstaff, and I agree about “Move a Mountain”, a brilliant and amazing song. I’m glad to be able to watch him live this summer, in a country festival of Southwestern France, named “Country in Mirande”, where Kim Carson will perform too. Johnny Falstaff plays real and excellent country music and in a perfect world, country radios would play his songs on repeat.
Sandman
February 28, 2020 @ 2:45 pm
This guy is great. Smooth honkabilly. But he needs a better drummer. While his (the drummer’s) meter is good his playing is lazy and sloppy, with predictable, amateurish fills that break the flow. Especially noticeable on what should be simple, straight-ahead country shuffles. It’s a distraction you hear a lot in clubs. The best drummers are like umpires; you should never notice them, even while your smiling a** is getting kicked all over the dance floor. If they tighten it up (e.g. Derailers, Yoakum, et al) they might get some proper (albeit non-commercial) air play/deserved recognition. I agree this guy has something going, but he needs to make some decisions to catch the fleeting wind.
T-grondo
February 28, 2020 @ 4:10 pm
Sandman…
I’ve watched quite a few of JF’s videos and he seems to have a lot of different drummers…
Since he’s based out of Germany, I wonder how many of these drummers are Euros ?
Country music (and the western mystic) has a big fan base in Europe….but of the European country players I hear, they seem to have trouble with two things…the singing and the drumming…
Waylonia
February 28, 2020 @ 3:03 pm
Thanks for the heads up Trigger! Great stuff. Discovering artists like JF is exactly the reason I “crash” your “silly little site” on a regular basis. Cheers.
Garrett Roe
February 28, 2020 @ 11:23 pm
Thank God for this site. I find some outstanding music here! I love that Detamore plays steel on this record. Love his playing!
Johnny Falstaff
February 29, 2020 @ 8:52 am
Hello friends and friendlies – Falstaff here. I’d like to thank you all for the kind words and support.
I do a lot of touring in Europe and come back home to play (and see Mama) as often as I can. It can get rough out there, you know the drill…drive to the gig, unload your stuff, play the show, load your stuff, get a couple of hours sleep and drive to the next gig.
Sometimes it’s that one person at the show that gives an encouraging word and a smile to keep you going.
So again, a heartfelt thank you…you guys are the reason we are able to do this.
AnthonyQ
March 7, 2020 @ 5:10 pm
In Austin for the weekend to see Mike and the Moonpies last night at Antone’s and headed to the White Horse now to see Johnny.
Jerseyboy
March 1, 2020 @ 8:49 am
Johnny, Just got turned onto your music via this site and Ameripolitan awards, love your music and Detamore is the bomb. Saw your tour schedule hope you can add a few dates in the Northeast some time, specifically NYC/NJ.
Auf wieder sehen!
Stefan
March 2, 2020 @ 2:32 am
I live in the eastern part of Germany, only 80 miles from where he lives. And I had never heard of him 🙁 Time to look out for local gigs.
Batterycap
March 4, 2020 @ 1:58 pm
Wow. If that don’t turn you on, you ain’t got no switch.