Johnny Favourite Swings With A New Sound

For some, the release of the new Johnny Favourite disc, The Tonight Album, is going to a case of "good news, bad news." Diehard swing fans might find it tough going, since Johnny Favourite and the Swing Orchestra of past releases have parted company. However, what’s been left is just as exciting, and more importantly, just as fun. The Tonight Album is a sparkling collection of pop songs and covers filtered through '60s lounge and Johnny’s own love of all kinds of popular music. "I hate the perception that one thing is all someone can be about," says Johnny. "I like stuff as diverse as Elvis Costello, the Style Council and Tower of Power."According to Johnny, this record is just a natural progression of what has come before. "It was not a deliberate attempt to break from swing, it just came out this way," he says. "Plus this time around, I actually started writing songs myself which has made a big difference. I just didn’t want to set up any perimeters on the music."Thankfully, listeners are rewarded by this attitude as The Tonight Album takes you on much more musically diverse path than the Swing Orchestra ever did. "I think it's a very well rounded record," explains Johnny. Certainly the sounds cover everything from roaring guitar to crying horns to Indian sitar. There’s even a remix with the Boomtang Boys tackling Johnny’s version of the old Georgie Fame track "Yeh Yeh." "I was a little worried about a remix, because of all the connotations that go with that word," he says, "yet I just gave it to them and they did a great job. They got exactly what I was searching for, a mix between Smashmouth and Austin Powers."With the record just released this week, Johnny is one busy lad doing interviews left and right, but he promises some performances later in the summer. The video for "Yeh Yeh" is completed and it features Johnny in the Bahamas chasing himself everywhere.The "cultural watchdogs," as Johnny calls them, might have put the final bullet in the body of swing (now will they please go after Latin music), but it’s not even a flesh wound in what appears to be a long and interesting career for Johnny Favourite.By Dan "The Mouth" Lovranski - Co Host of The LAW - LiveAudioWrestling