The Trouble Tree
{{Infobox album
| name = The Trouble Tree
| type = album
| artist = Freedy Johnston
| cover = Freedy Johnston - The Trouble Tree.jpg
| alt =
| released = 1990
| recorded = {{Start date|1989|4}}–{{Start date|1989|6}} at Water Music Recorders, Hoboken, NJ
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = Alternative rock
| length = 64:29
| label = Bar/None{{Cite web|url=http://www.bar-none.com/freedy-johnston|title=Freedy Johnston|website=Bar/None Records}}
| producer = Chris Butler
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title = Can You Fly
| next_year = 1992
}}
{{Album ratings
|rev1 = AllMusic
|rev1score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite web |first=Jason |last=Ankeny |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r10532|pure_url=yes}}|title=Trouble Tree |publisher=Allmusic |date= |accessdate=February 3, 2013}}
|rev2 = Robert Christgau
|rev2Score = {{Rating-Christgau|hm3}}{{cite web |first=Robert |last=Christgau |url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=1295 |title=Freedy Johnston: The Trouble Tree |publisher=Robert Christgau.com |date= |accessdate=February 3, 2013}}
|rev3 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
|rev3score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite book |last1=Larkin |first1=Colin |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |date=2006 |publisher=MUZE |volume=4 |page=668}}
|rev4 = MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide
|rev4score = {{rating|2.5|5}}{{cite book |title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide |date=1999 |publisher=Visible Ink Press |page=612}}
|rev5 = The New Rolling Stone Album Guide
|rev6 = Sounds
|rev6Score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite magazine|title=Freedy Johnston: The Trouble Tree|last=Harris|first=John|date=30 March 1991|magazine=Sounds|page=39}}
|rev7 = Spin Alternative Record Guide
|rev7score = 6/10{{cite book |title=Spin Alternative Record Guide |date=1995 |publisher=Vintage Books |pages=201–202}}
}}
The Trouble Tree is the debut album by Freedy Johnston, released in 1990 through Bar/None Records.{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/freedy-johnston-mn0000802464/biography|title=Freedy Johnston | Biography & History|website=AllMusic}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125126141|title=Freedy Johnston On World Cafe|website=NPR.org}}
Production
Critical reception
Trouser Press wrote that the album "captures Johnston’s wheedling and whiny voice in extreme close-up, forcing listeners to seek refuge in overextended wordplay and spare guitar-based arrangements."{{cite web |title=Freedy Johnston |url=https://trouserpress.com/reviews/freedy-johnston/ |website=Trouser Press |accessdate=27 October 2020}} The Spin Alternative Record Guide called it "raw-sounding, infatuated with dangerous sorts, and a bit unformed lyrically."
Track listing
{{tracklist
| all_writing = Freedy Johnston
| title1 = Innocent
| length1 = 2:26
| title2 = Down on the Moon No. 1
| length2 = 3:24
| title3 = No Violins
| length3 = 3:45
| title4 = That's What You Get
| length4 = 3:38
| title5 = Fun Ride
| length5 = 5:20
| title6 = Gina
| length6 = 3:42
| title7 = Nature Boy
| length7 = 4:46
| title8 = Bad Girl
| length8 = 3:08
| title9 = After My Shocks
| length9 = 2:54
| title10 = Tucumcari
| length10 = 2:17
| title11 = Down on the Moon No. 2
| length11 = 3:52
| title12 = Little Red Haired Girl
| length12 = 4:33
| title13 = [untitled]
| length13 = 20:39
}}
Personnel
;Musicians
- Alan Bezozi – drums
- David Hamburger – guitar
- Freedy Johnston – vocals, guitar
- James MacMillan – bass guitar, engineering
- Doug Snodgrass – bass guitar
;Production and additional personnel
- Chris Butler – production, guitar on "Fun Ride" and "After My Shocks"
- Andy Burton – keyboards on "Fun Ride"
- B. Woody Giessmann – drums on "Little Red Haired Girl"
- John Halpern – photography
- Jody Harris – guitar on "Fun Ride"
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Discogs master |master=281069 |name=The Trouble Tree}}
{{Freedy Johnston}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trouble Tree}}