By: Ben Watson
Back in July the country music world was shocked to find out that singer-songwriter Sturgill Simpson was stepping away from his music career. Well kind of. He isn’t really leaving his career behind, instead he’s picked up the stage name Johnny Blue Skies and is retiring his real name. Simpson has started this new era in his career with a hot start releasing the Johnny Blue Skies debut album, Passage Du Desir.
Track 01: Swamp of Sadness:
Sturgill Simpson opens the album with the story of a French sailor who heard a siren’s song and lived to tell the tail. The opening song sets the calmer tone of album as it fades in with some French strings and other instruments before they give way to drums and a light bassline that sway like the ocean that our French sailor is in. Simpson uses the story as a metaphor for fighting against his temptations which in this case seems to be the temptation to leave everything behind and just drift away at sea. Overall, the track is calming and almost allows you to drift away in the ocean much like Simpson wants to. The swaying beat and addition of the French instrumentals really helps connect the music to the story it’s telling. Just as the strings fade us into the album, they then carry us into the track just as delicately.
Track 02: If the Sun Never Rises Again:
A quick lick from the electric guitar and a funky drumbeat are how Track #02 is introduced before Sturgill Simpson comes in to tell us a story of longing for lasting love. While the instruments are more upbeat and Simpson’s guitar wails with frustration at times the song is still able to keep a calm tone. That is mostly thanks to Simpson’s soft-airy vocals that float just on top of the instruments. This song almost feels less like country and more like a Pink Floyd record with the way the guitar and soft vocals carry you through the song while the rhythm section provides a groovy beat that’s easy to sway to. It is very reminiscent of the late 70’s and early 80’s in that sense as well. Also, in Pink Floyd fashion, it is the keyboard that takes the listener to the end of the song once the guitars and rhythm section all fade away.
Track 03: Scooter Blues:
This time Sturgill Simpson talks about his time he spent traveling Europe and Asia and living in Thailand and France during 2022 and 2023. After rupturing his vocal cords while touring with Willie Nelson. Simpson’s head began to turn on him and he fell into a dark place. In hopes of finding himself again he packed up his bags and went off to Thailand before ending his adventures in Paris where he would settle for couple months. Scooter Blues is more upbeat than the last song and more traditional country as well. It features steel guitars and a bluesy swing beat that makes for a fun listen. Simpson’s vocals are once again soft enough to help keep the calm-peaceful tone of the album. Overall, this track is a fun one about Simpson’s travels and “scootering” his blues away.
Track 04: Jupiter’s Faerie:
This track…this track right here may be one of my all-time favorite songs. With it, Simpson speaks about trying to reconnect with an estranged friend after Simpson severed the friendship years prior. He reaches out only to find out that this friend had passed away from suicide a year ago. He expresses his guilt for not being there and for severing the friendship in the first place. While Simpson sings you can hear every ounce of emotion he poured into this song. It features light piano and strings with some guitar thrown into the mix as well. They come together to create a gentle yet powerful atmosphere that amplifies the emotion that Simpson projects. This song alone solidifies Sturgill Simpson as a legendary songwriter, but the lyric that really shows it is found the bridge. The instruments build up until Simpson belts out “There’s no happy endings, only stories that stop before they’re through”. That moment leads into a powerful rendition of the chorus and then everything begins to fade away until it’s just piano the brings the listener down gently after such an emotional rollercoaster.
Track 05: Who I Am:
“Who I am” is a much more traditional country song as Sturgill Simpson clearly pulls influence from his past albums as he even references his debut album High Top Mountain with the lyric “That old radio still won’t play me”. Simpson talks about going through an identity crisis as it felt like his name was more of a corporate entity instead of something he owned and that was unique to him. This is what led to him retiring from Sturgill Simpson and picking up the stage name Johnny Blue Skies. While the song still gets personal it’s still a relaxing switch from the heavy subject matter of the previous track. For being a country album, this song is the most “traditional” one on the album. Overall, this song is a good easy listen the starts the second half of the album nicely.
Track 06: Right Kind of Dream:
“Right Kind of Dream” is the most different song on the album. It may be one of the most unique songs in his whole discography. I went through trying to find a good comparison, but Simpson found a completely new sound with this one. While it’s not necessarily my favorite sound I respect it for its ambition and uniqueness. The song almost feels like a big collage of ideas as there almost seems to be a little bit of everything in this one song. From 70s rock, to punk, to country, to jazz, to traditional pop, this song has elements from every genre. There are certain ideas that just don’t blend well unfortunately, and it really holds the song back from being the grand masterpiece that Simpson probably envisioned. The lyric writing for the song is phenomenal and once again some of Simpson’s best work, it’s just not paired with the greatest piece of music sadly. In the end “Right Kind of Dream” is worth a listen, but maybe not a playlist add.
Track 07: Mint Tea:
“Right Kind of Dream” bleeds perfectly into “Mint Tea” as the former ends with a cymbal roll and the latter begins with one. Similar to “Who I Am”, this song is more traditional country than the rest of the album as it features slide guitar and some acoustic guitar plucking. “Mint Tea” is like drinking a cup of some freshly brewed mint tea wrapped in a blanket sitting by a fire in the middle of December. The most intriguing part of the song is the drumbeat. At first listen it seems like a very simple beat, but as you start to really focus on it you notice how much more is going on with it that almost gets lost behind the other instruments. The bridge features a melody change which allows for it to stick out from the rest of the song for a more powerful impact while not having to change anything else in the song. Like most tracks on the album so far, everything gets softer as the song then begins to fade into the final track “One For The Road”.
Track 08: One For The Road:
The final song of this amazing album feels like a grand finale. It’s big, emotional, and powerful. Sturgill Simpson’s amazing lyricism once again shines through as he manages to take a breakup story and tell it in a beautiful manner that no other breakup song has ever done. This song feels more like poetry put to the tune of a Pink Floyd song than anything else. Simpon even does his best David Gilmour impression with a 3-minuet long guitar solo that feels like you’re floating on cloud that carries you through the end of the album. There’s just no other way to describe it because that is what this song feels like, especially with that solo at the end.
Summary:
The Johnny Blue Skie’s debut, Passage Du Desir, has become one of my favorite albums of all-time. The fact that it fades in softly and fades out just as softly makes it very easy to listen to repeatedly as one does when writing articles like this. While it has some definite country influence this album if more of a 70s-psychedelic rock album. It is perfect for sitting in a hammock with a joint and nature. Another thing I love about it is the influence of Simpson’s travels is also very prevalent throughout the album. For the most part everything flows and blends so beautifully. I recommend this album for Pink Floyd fans, country fans, and fans of calm, easy to listen to, music.
Final Song Rankings:
- Jupiter’s Faerie
- If The Sun Never Rises Again
- One For The Road
- Swamp of Sadness
- Scooter Blues
- Mint Tea
- Who I am
- Right Kind of Dream