Press
July 1st, 2009
AWARDS
2009 Westword Nominated Best Pop Artist
2009 Denver Music Scene Top 10 Songwriters
2009 Lyons Folks Festival Finalist
2008 Telluride Troubadour Finalist
2008 Westword Nominated Best Singer/Songwriter
2007 Lyons Folks Festival Finalist
2007 Mover and Shaker / Best Local Release -- Westword
2007 Best Local Release -- The Denver Post
2006 Most Intriguing Discs - The Onion
2006 Westword Nominated Best Singer/Songwriter
-- Various
February 13th, 2010
This is the most complete John Common record yet. It is truly one of the most endearing and magnificent albums I’ve ever had in my collection. The lyrics are those of the poet–laureate, insightful, and glaringly crisp in their focus. The music is the equal to anything ever done by any great pop music arranger. Beautiful Empty is full of mystery, intrigue, loneliness, pain, and searching --- and there’s no direct answers here…there’s no salvation, no redemption - although there is hope, optimism. All put together we get one of the most sophisticated and intelligent adult pop records of the past several decades. It’s John traveling as he has always, only this time his journey moves far past the gritty highways of Rainville and the messy existentialism of Why Birds Fly. If it’s possible that song titles are any indication at all they say what needs to be said about John’s vision of himself and of life … Can You Hear Me, Same Scar, Wide Open World, Good Heart, In My Neighborhood make up the first half of the album before “intermission” (track six). Thinking About God concludes the second chapter … but before we get there, we visit Walter Whitman; experience how Love Is A Shark; Turnaround; Don’t Follow Virginia; and hear about The Man Who Could --- that would be John .. who could and does in JC 3.0 show us he has much more beautiful emptiness to share.
-- Chris K. / The Colorado Sound
January 18th, 2010
"John Common & Blinding Flashes of Light emerged through smoke dressed to kill in black and red and goggles. From the second they took the stage until the second they left it, they played with the sort of blind joy that will make you believe in whatever they're doing. DeNicola's voice is an arrow, unmistakable and full of personality. Common's voice, by contrast, is steady and broad. It swallows you. His band, composed of his choice of local talent, is of unmistakable high caliber, each capable of holding a song by himself. But this is John Common's music -- it's pure passion and happiness."
-- Westword
January 12th, 2010
After nearly quitting music, John Common made the best record of his life with his new band, Blinding Flashes of Light
...While recording, Common asked each member to create intensity with emotion rather than volume and to leave space for one another in the arrangements. "We wanted it to feel, as much as possible, like a real band of human beings playing in a wooden room," he explains. "We wanted it to sound like real people conversing with one another, musically, like having a conversation."
They succeeded, because the first thing you notice about Beautiful Empty is its spaciousness: The voices of Common and DeNicola blend together seamlessly and never strain to compete with one other, much less with the other instruments. On the song "Same Scar," for example, moaning cello lines harmonize gracefully with an accordion as it inhales and exhales gently, weaving an impressively elegant backdrop.
-- Dave Herrera / Westword
January 6th, 2010
JOHN COMMON & BLINDING FLASHES OF LIGHT | BEAUTIFUL EMPTY
"The new songs are as heartbreaking as they are clever. And the music is tender, ornate and vibrant, sparkling with affecting melodies sung with elegance and grace..."
-- Westword
February 1st, 2010
Empty beds. This was the first thing I noticed about Beautiful Empty when it came in the mail. The album art depicts beds: empty, slept in, sheets all askew. As the opening track "Can You Hear Me" began to roll out of my desktop speakers, dreamy sounds and words filled my ears. John Common begins by taking stock of the situation. “Woke up alone, where’d you go?” he asks. His bed is empty, it is a strange beauty. Beautiful… empty.
Before diving headlong into a full review of the debut album from John Common & Blinding Flashes of Light, a little background might be useful. John Common is one of those characters on the Denver music scene who appears restless. His previous projects are numerous and varied; from art and film exhibits to a kazoo orchestra, Common has always been dabbling in one thing or another. When he set to work creating Beautiful Empty, he decided to not just go alone, but instead gathered a top-notch band to see the vision through.
The result is a stunning collection of songs. Beautiful Empty is split into two parts, “Side A” and “Side B” (maybe someday it will be released on vinyl?), each with a unique flavor. “Good Heart” is a simple piano ballad from the first half of the record that displays a beautiful simplicity, while “In My Neighborhood” is a sunny number that takes full advantage of the unique sound of a Rhodes keyboard.
On the B-side there’s “Love Is A Shark.” I still don’t quite know what to think about this song. On one hand it is the kind of metaphor that makes me smile, but on the other hand it is one of the oddest comparisons I’ve ever heard.
“Thinking ‘bout God” closes the record out with a reflective song that ebbs and flows with piano, strings, and keyboards. It is the kind of song that I can imagine as a slow-dance that plays off into the night.
Beautiful Empty is available digitally on iTunes, physically at Twist & Shout, and on CDbaby.com (where $2 from each record sale will go to relief efforts in Haiti until February 9).
-- Tim Weilert / School of Mines
January 18th, 2010
I admit I’m a bit of a skeptic. When I hear or see a lot of buildup or hype over something, I usually get a little put off, because too many times the “something” doesn’t measure up to the hype. When John Common and Blinding Flashes of Light finally took the stage, my doubts faded away. By the third song, I was a fan. By the fifth song, I wanted to join the band. The music was very nearly flawless-- great sound, great arrangements, great vocals, great musicianship."
-- The Examiner
June 1st, 2008
"John's clever lyrics and perfectly crafted songs are outdone only by his huge and prolific body of work. This guy puts out a solid album twice a year. No wonder his songs are good. He also has a killer band."
-- Denver Music Scene, Top Ten Singer-Songwriters
August 15th, 2006
"Common has achieved the musical equivalent of picking up seven tiles in a game of Scrabble and being able to lay down “bezique” on the first turn."
-- FIVE MAGAZINE, TAOS, NEW MEXICO
January 12th, 2010
Since moving to Denver from Florida nearly 15 years ago, singer-songwriter John Common has knocked around Denver in a number of incarnations. At the turn of the millennium, Common and his collaborators in Rainville gained a loyal following while sticking pretty close to a tried-and-true roots/Americana formula. Nearly ten years and countless songs later, “Beautiful Empty” — the performer’s latest release with a rotating cast of musicians called John Common and Blinding Flashes of Light — amply demonstrates far greater stylistic breadth and showcases a songwriter of remarkable depth and maturity.
Beautiful Empty... It’s a pop record that invites you to poke beneath the surface, and rewards you with soul, insight and some musical surprises.
-- Denver Post | Steal This Track
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