Today I was checking out Pitchfork's guide to new releases for the first three months of 2010 and noticed a few significant absences (at least in my opinion). I'll post about the others later this week, but I wanted to start with the fantastic news that Freedy Johnston will return to the label of his youth when 'Rain On The City' hits the shelves on Jan. 12. I know I'm far from alone in this sentiment, but 'Can You Fly' and 'This Perfect World' were a couple of the brightest spots during the dark days of indie rock known as 1992 and 1994. The last record I bought by Johnston was 'Never Home' in 1997, and then I kind of lost track of him for quite a while. It turns out he lost track of his own career as well. 
'Rain On The City' is his first album of originals in eight long years. I have recently discovered the 2000s did produce a couple of Johnston projects that have intrigued me enough to pull out the wallet. In 2004, he released an album of four-track recordings (almost all of which were not on previous albums) taken from 1986-1992 called 'The Way I Were'. In 2008, Johnston released a covers record called 'My Favorite Waste Of Time'. Since I first discovered Johnston through my love for Marshall Crenshaw and his subsequent contributions to Johnston's early work, I'm looking forward to hearing his cover of the Crenshaw favorite, as well as his take on Paul McCartney, The Hollies and more. So, while I'm waiting for my purchases to arrive, I'm enjoying this free download from 'Rain On The City' and contemplating whether I'll trek to Schubas to see him on Jan. 22.Freedy Johnston - Don't Fall In Love With A Lonely Girl (mp3)
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