I'm gonna go out on a limb with this comment but, before I do that, I should preface it with this. I got into EJ from the cover story and soundpage in the May 1985 Guitar Player mag. I have all of his albums (even the Electromagnet stuff) and have followed his career closely for years. I am a HUGE fan.

But...

I've seen him live twice and found him exasperating to watch. Both times I felt like he was constantly distracted by his equipment. He was always bending to fiddle with his effects pedals, futzing with his amp, or giving instructions to a guitar tech offstage. This video shows perfectly what what nonplusses me about EJ live, especially the part when he bends down to mess with an effects pedal and misses a vocal cue almost entirely.

Also, it seems to me that his tone has lost its once-legendary "violin" sound. Johnson's notes used to flow into one another in such a unique, almost "liquid" manner. Now I just don't hear that and his playing sounds downright choppy sometimes.

I first noticed it on the original G3 DVD but blamed it on the fact that he was using an ES-335 on some tunes. But now I'm hearing a real thinness and choppiness to his playing. I just wish he could recapture whatever mojo it was that he had in the Tones/Ah Via Musicom/Venus Isle days and bring it back for all to hear. My two cents, of course.

By the way, I LOVE your blog, Jason and congrats on the new gig at Guitar Edge. They made a great choice.