Venus Isle
Studio album by
Eric Johnson
ReleasedSeptember 3, 1996 (1996-09-03)[1]
Recorded1996
Studio
  • Saucer One, Austin
  • Arlyn, Austin
  • A&M, Hollywood
  • Digital Services, Houston
  • Rocket Ranch, Houston
  • Reelsound, Buda
GenreInstrumental rock, pop rock
Length58:23[2]
LabelCapitol
ProducerEric Johnson, Richard Mullen
Eric Johnson chronology
Ah Via Musicom
(1990)		 Venus Isle
(1996)		 G3: Live in Concert
(1996)
Singles from Ah Via Musicom
  1. "Pavilion" / "S.R.V."
    Released: 1996[3]

Venus Isle is the third studio album by guitarist Eric Johnson, released on September 3, 1996, through Capitol Records. The album reached No. 51 on the U.S. Billboard 200,[4] the highest position in Johnson's career, and remained on that chart for six weeks.[5] "Pavilion" was released as a single and reached No. 33 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart,[4] while its B-side "S.R.V." is a tribute to guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan and features his elder brother Jimmie Vaughan as a guest soloist. "Camel's Night Out" is featured as downloadable content for the video game Guitar Hero World Tour (2008) and can also be exported to Guitar Hero 5 (2009).

The album's original title was to be Travel One Hope, but this was changed at the last minute by Capitol for "being too oblique."[6] Advance promotional CDs of Travel One Hope have since become a collector's item.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine at AllMusic gave Venus Isle three stars out of five, describing Johnson as a "consummate guitarist" and "a joy to hear him play". However, he criticized the album for not breaking any new ground following the six-year gap from its 1990 predecessor Ah Via Musicom, remarking that it "reveals no new insights about the guitarist, it only offers a new spin on the territory Ah! Via Musicom covered."[1]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Eric Johnson, except where noted

No.TitleLength
1."Venus Isle"5:29
2."Battle We Have Won"5:59
3."All About You"8:20
4."S.R.V."3:02
5."Lonely in the Night" (Vince Mariani)6:05
6."Manhattan"4:52
7."Camel's Night Out" (Kyle Brock, Mark Younger-Smith)5:16
8."Song for Lynette"4:54
9."When the Sun Meets the Sky" (Johnson, Steve Barber)7:54
10."Pavilion"5:02
11."Venus Reprise"1:30
Total length:58:23

Personnel

  • Eric Johnson – lead vocals (tracks 1–3, 5, 9), guitar (all tracks), guitar synthesizer, synthesizer (track 2), piano, electric sitar, arrangement, engineering, production
  • Amit Chatterjee – vocals (tracks 1, 3)
  • Christopher Cross – vocals (tracks 3, 5)
  • Jimmie Vaughan – additional guitar solos (track 4)
  • Steve Barber – synthesizer (tracks 1–5, 8–10), Hammond B3, arrangement
  • Tommy Taylor – drums (tracks 1–7, 9–11), percussion (tracks 3, 11), arrangement
  • Bill Maddox – drums (track 8), engineering
  • James Fenner – percussion (tracks 2, 5, 6)
  • Chris Searles – percussion (tracks 3, 5)
  • Kyle Brock – bass (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5–7, 10), arrangement
  • Roscoe Beck – bass (tracks 3, 9, 10, 11), engineering
  • Chris Maresh – bass (track 8)
  • Richard Kilmer – strings (track 5)
  • Bruce Williams – strings (track 5)
  • Jennifer Bourianoff – strings (track 5)
  • Anthony Stogner – strings (track 5)
  • Scott McIntosh – trumpet
  • Vince Mariani – arrangement
  • Richard Mullen – engineering, mixing, production
  • John Fannin – engineering
  • Ethridge Hill – engineering
  • Malcolm Harper – engineering
  • John Aguto – engineering
  • Jeff Poe – engineering
  • Stuart Sullivan – engineering
  • Mark Hallman – engineering
  • John Moran – engineering
  • James Hoover – engineering
  • Jeff DeMorris – mixing assistance
  • Jim Champagne – mixing assistance
  • Brad Haehnel – mixing assistance
  • Allen Sides – mixing assistance
  • Bernie Grundman – mastering
  • Jimmy McKeever – mastering assistance

Chart performance

Album

YearChartPosition
1996 Billboard 200 51[4]

Singles

YearTitleChartPosition
1996 "Pavilion" Billboard Mainstream Rock 33[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Venus Isle - Eric Johnson". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2014-11-14.
  2. ↑ Venus Isle (CD release "Capitol Compact Disc 0777 7 983312 2 2").
  3. ↑ "Eric Johnson (2) – Pavilion / S.R.V.". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Venus Isle - Eric Johnson | Awards". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2014-11-14.
  5. ↑ "Eric Johnson - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
  6. ↑ Hernandez, Raoul (1996-09-27). "Eric's World: The Many Fanastic Colors of". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2015-12-25.
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