Johnathan Rice Trouble Is Real. Release Date : April 26, 2005. Label: Reprise. Rating: Good. (Screw points. To each his own!) Ooh I wasn't sure about this for a moment. Opening the album is a drifty and breathy song that just about gave me hives from all its allergy-inducing sugary-sweetness, but *boom*, two minutes into "Mid-November" and there's an eruption in song that is absolutely gorgeous! Rolling down a springtime grass hill with daisies gorgeous. It's still really breathy though. John Mayer ish, which I'm not too fond of. I just think it's an overdone singer-songwriter vocal style, no matter who started it. So for the jivey tunes on this album, kudos. For the super-slow dreamy ones, not so much. It's a gentle album. It will be liked, oh yes, it will be liked. Excessive country lo-fi cute alert for "Put Me In Your Holy War." And then suddenly, it's collective soul. Weird. Last half of the album appears to be great. More super-cute jumpy tunes for "Stay At Home." Rice is winning me over. Song of choice : I'm such a sucker for the wee spacey intro to "City On Fire." Does that count? Well "City Of Fire" is really cool too anyhow. Take that. -Andy Scheffler Elsewhere Johnathan Rice website Published : January, 2007.