Radford - Sleepwalker
By Tim Byrnes

Radford - Sleepwalker
Label: Universal
Rating:

This CD arrives as a result of one man's journey through the thickets of true love and the music industry. Singer/Songwriter/Guitarist Johnny Mead came to Los Angeles from Britain in 1993 whereupon he formed a group called Radford, Johnny's middle name. The band signed with RCA records, who released their self-titled debut in 2000. The group toured extensively, opening for Oasis, Lit and Vertical Horizon among others. The fan base was building and the buzz was in the air when that old devil �corporate restructuring' reared it's ugly head at RCA and our boys were out on the street.

Mead was understandably disappointed, even to the point of forsaking music altogether when that other old devil �true love' reared it's ugly head and gave Mead a broken relationship to carry along with the weight of being dropped by RCA. So, like all good rock and roll boy genius', Mead took his home studio and turned his emotional upheaval into a one-man-band demo that got him signed to Universal.

With the able assistance of Josh Freese (GnR, NIN) on drums, Rick Markham (Chris Cornell) on bass and former Radford guitarist Chris Hower, Mead returns to the fray with �Sleepwalker", an emotionally complex and rocking testimony to the power of self-determination.

The Brit-pop wall of guitars that march in lockstep behind Mead's Brett Anderson-esque vocals on opener "Therapy (I Don't Need You)" give rise to a heart broken, perhaps, but not yet beaten. The hurt implied in the lyrics of this record rings true, the music swells and ebbs as the song requires, no self-limiting genre exercises here, just want and need and loss and pain and love and redemption and acceptance and resolve.

Thinking person's Brit-Pop, that's what I'd call this, Mead takes from the right scrapbooks; Bowie, Ferry/Roxy, London Suede etc. and had crafted a work all his own. You can hear and feel the blood, sweat and, yes, tears, he lived through to bring this record into being. Far from letting the vagaries of corporate America still his heart and song, Johnny Mead looked into him self for the strength, vision and talent necessary to turn setbacks into success. Buy this CD, the guy's already worked for it. Pay the man.

Listen to samples and Purchase this CD online