Johnny Martin, "Sugar Pill"

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By Roger "Red" Byrne
Freelancers United, Inc.

There is a reason why some music fades into the abyss while others manage to cling on to immortality. Frank Sinatra and his peers sang songs that, decades later, have become part of American culture. They work as time capsules, taking us back to days of relative innocence. But there's an inner sadness to those songs that millions of bad, drunken karoake covers have nearly successfully smothered.

When Johnny Martin sings "A Very Good Year" on "Sugar Pill," it has no comedian's fingerprints; his rendition is reverent and emotionally resonant. You think you may have heard this track a million times already; however, Martin nails it, the deep sorrow and heartfelt nostalgia in the lyrics.

In a way, these are darker tunes than the angst-ridden rockers that we hear today. There is no catharsis brought upon the ferocious energy of electric guitars; the tempos are slow and the atmosphere is thick with melancholy.

For more information, check out http://www.johnnymartin.com.