Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
An exclamation of disbelief that we all proclaim in one variant form or another, the mouth open in shock and surprise, the eyes wide and staring at the unveiled grace; we can either accept that words of enduring memory will spring forth at such a time, or we can go against type, we can go against the manufactured spells of others and just declare with certainty Heavens To Betsy, this is the stuff of legends.
The point of art is arguably the belief in digging deep into your soul and allowing what may fester, what will pass for truth, the chance to be unearthed and be seen to take root in the sunshine, the flowers that make passing strangers give admiring glances and yourself the satisfaction of asserting your own way of communicating to the world.
It is this belief that Jeremiah Johnson shoots from the hip and announces the decree which encompasses the deep and the raw fury and which is presented with the warm handshake to which Paradise is all but a realisation away.
Heavens To Betsy is an album that declares its intentions from the start, there is no sense in meekly announcing yourself, there is only the gorgeous fanfare that comes with honouring the craft to which you were born to produce, that you must honour with sincerity and hope, and in the auspicious opener of White Lightning, and through to tracks such as Ecstasy, Forever And A Day, Leo Stone, the excellent Born Under A Bad Sign, Tornado and the final musical surge of Preacher’s Daughter, what Jeremiah Johnson produces verges on the rapture, a dreamland that understands the difference between polished idolatry and truthful, unadulterated procession.
Creativity is a solemn vow of exploration, it should never be easy, there must always be pain, suffering and despondency involved, for in the that the heavens shine brighter, the boldness of the moment is advanced, the representation exquisite. It is a vow that has been heard and revered by the musician and Heavens To Betsy knows, it is to be praised.
Jeremiah Johnson’s Heavens To Betsy is released on the Ruf Records label on the 14th February.
Ian D. Hall