When evaluating the
art of Daniel Johnston
the chronic bi-polar
disorder that Johnston
has suffered with his
entire adult life
inevitably is mentioned
because it has such
direct correlation to
his creativity. The
often hauntingly fragile
voice, the delivery and
the disarming and often
disturbing lyrical
content are examples of
a man stripped of any
boundaries of self
protection. Through his
music Daniel lays
himself on display.
It is my belief that
Daniel is consistently
misunderstood though.
The documentary film
‘The Devil and Daniel
Johnston’ is not likely
to change the general
public consensus,
although it is bound to
elevate Daniel to a new
level of popularity and
notoriety that I hope
will translate into
record sales. Let’s get
one thing straight
though. Daniel is not
mentally impaired. He
suffers from a mental
illness. He is not a
novelty either.
Daniel requires no
positive discrimination
as his work is more than
capable of aligning
itself alongside other
great singer songwriters
such as Johnny Cash or
Tom Waits. A great
songwriter is usually an
excellent storyteller,
which Daniel is. They
also have a way with
melody and musical
hooks, achieving an
addictive quality.
Daniel excels at this.
They can also espouse
tales of existential
torment and bare their
soul. Daniel’s soul is
naked.
On ‘Lost and
Found’ Brian Beattie’s
production work
successfully straddles
the task of recreating
some of the raw energy
that made Daniel’s early
recordings so intense,
whilst also adding rich
layers and textures
creating a depth of
sound that plays to the
strength of character
that is endemic in
Daniel’s songs. Opener
‘Rock this Town’ is
perhaps the closest
Daniel has come to
sounding like AC/DC. On
the surface its fun.
Beyond the fun is a tale
of determination in the
face of ridicule, “I
took my guitar to the
Heavy Metal store, I
told them all about the
golden rule, they just
laughed in my face and
called me a space
cake…I’m gonna rock,
rock this town tonight”.
‘Haunt’ (a story
of love from beyond the
grave) rides along on a
detuned guitar riff and
effect laden vocals
giving it an altogether
other worldly effect.
‘The Beatles’ and ‘Mrs
Daniel Johnston’ further
examine Daniels
obsessions; the latter a
fantastical love story
of meeting Marilyn
Monroe in another realm.
As if to emphasise
the point that Daniel is
anything but stupid
‘Lonely Song’ displays
an astonishing self
awareness of the role of
the media in
mythologizing him, “Well
you’ve read all the
magazines, I’ve been
wounded by folklore”.
His illness may have
helped him gain
notoriety but it’s also
something that he is
essentially trapped in
when it comes to
appraisals of his work.
Listen to ‘Lost and
Found’ and the ultimate
judgement will be if the
music moves you and then
all intellectual
discussion will fall
away into bleak and cold
irrelevance. Perhaps
more than on any other
Daniel Johnston record
‘Lost and Found’
maintains a level of
consistent quality that
really does do him
justice.
With all publicity
currently surrounding
the film, a film that
makes Daniel
uncomfortable with and
portrays him as a
victim, with music
merely a footnote, it
really would be a crime
if the music was ignored
in the media circus.
‘Lost and Found’ isn’t
just a great Daniel
Johnston record. It’s
simply a great record.
Above all Daniel is a
highly articulate and
entertaining songwriter
with an honesty that has
been rarely (if ever)
equalled.
