“And then the Great Tune came down”
A few years back, the sadly defunct fan-driven website rejectedunknown.com added a members only link to a vast mass of unreleased Daniel Johnston songs- so many albums’ worth of brilliance and heartbreak could be found within those hours of home recordings that you wondered/hoped that they’d someday see a proper release.
As one-time producer of his music and now remastering overseer of his bandcamp catalogue, it’s nice to see Kramer adding some of these unheard rarities to these rereleases. With Welcome To My World, Daniel Johnston’s ‘greatest hits’ of sorts (originally released back in 2006), six bonus gems have been included- the most arresting (and arguably the rarest) is its final statement, The Great Tune – introduced by Johnston as a demo, but as masterful as anything he put to to tape once he’d set foot in a recording studio later in life. It’s so wonderful to hear him so full of life again.
It’s a glorious, broken, joyous thing- classically Johnston in its playful self-awareness/solipsism but still demonstrating that undiluted reverence for the creative process that was so often a source of inspiration in itself. The melody is beautifully soulful and, as ever, each line manages to pack about 16 extra syllables into it without ever breaking its natural rhythmic flow. That old battered acoustic is thrashed at with characteristic percussive mojo and it’s such a joy to hear his plaintive, child-like wail put to such exuberant use once more. What a wonder he was!
I hope this latest Shimmy-Disc offering is a sign of more treats still to come… There are certainly many jewels laying unlit within the vaults. It’s lovely to shine some light on one more.
Available as download and as part of the Collector’s Edition vinyl long player- it’s a must for any Daniel Johnston fan: go get it today!
Written by M.A Welsh
Music | Misophone (bandcamp.com)
