''The Trouble Tree'' is the debut album by

Freedy Johnston Freedy Johnston (born Frederic John Fatzer in 1961) is an American singer-songwriter based in New York City. Originally from Kinsley, Kansas, Johnston's songs are often about troubled loners, and cover topics like heartbreak, alienation, an ...

, released in 1990 through

Bar/None Records Bar/None Records is an independent record label based in Hoboken, New Jersey. Early history Tom Prendergast started Bar/None in early 1986 in Hoboken, New Jersey. Having previously worked in pirate radio, booking and promoting bands in his n ...

Production

The album was recorded in

Hoboken Hoboken ( ; ) is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's popula ...

, New Jersey.

Critical reception

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who, Dave Schulps, and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'' wrote that the album "captures Johnston’s wheedling and whiny voice in extreme close-up, forcing listeners to seek refuge in overextended wordplay and spare guitar-based arrangements." The ''

Spin Alternative Record Guide The ''Spin Alternative Record Guide'' is a music reference book compiled by the American music magazine ''Spin (magazine), Spin'' and published in 1995 by Vintage Books. It was editing, edited by the rock music, rock critic Eric Weisbard and Crai ...

'' called it "raw-sounding, infatuated with dangerous sorts, and a bit unformed lyrically."

Track listing

Personnel

;Musicians *Alan Bezozi – drums *David Hamburger – guitar *

– vocals, guitar *James MacMillan – bass guitar,

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

*Doug Snodgrass – bass guitar ;Production and additional personnel * Chris Butler – production, guitar on "Fun Ride" and "After My Shocks" *Andy Burton – keyboards on "Fun Ride" *B. Woody Giessmann – drums on "Little Red Haired Girl" *John Halpern – photography *

Jody Harris Jody Harris is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer who was born in Kansas and became a central figure in the seminal no wave scene in New York City in the 1970s. Career history Harris was lead guitarist in the Contortions, an ...

– guitar on "Fun Ride"

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trouble Tree 1990 debut albums Bar/None Records albums Freedy Johnston albums