John Baumann - Guy on a Rock

John Baumann’s Guy on a Rock is a songwriter stepping onto a bigger stage without leaving his soul behind. The production is big where it needs to be and subtle when that’s a must. It has layers of guitars and even some bongo drums in places, but the heart remains unmistakably Baumann no matter what is playing behind his words.

Every track threads that tightrope between heartbreak and hope, where the happy, sad, and melancholy all live together in uneasy harmony. That’s a place Baumann has always set his songs in.

This is the kind of record that reminds you why you fell in love with songs in the first place. It aches, it laughs, it remembers. There are flashes of Prine’s humanity, Keen’s road worn storytelling and the reserved brilliance that has always been pure Baumann.

Standout tracks are “T-U-L-S-A”, “I Still Believe in America”, “What She Used to Love About Me”, “Johnny Hit the Jackpot” and the title track. But there’s no clunker in the whole roster. Baumann remains a hard scrabble poet.

John Baumann has delivered another record that rips your heart out and hands it back beating stronger. Guy on a Rock captures the full spectrum of life’s middle ground. The place where love fades, hope flickers and the music keeps you going.

Pure John Baumann.