Saucer One Studio and Arlyn Studios in Austin, Texas; A&M Studios in Hollywood; Digital Services Recording; Rocket Ranch Studios in Houston; Reelsound Recording Company in Buda, Texas
Venus Isle is the third studio album by guitarist Eric Johnson, released on September 3, 1996 through Capitol Records. The album reached No. 51 on the U.S. Billboard 200[4] and remained on that chart for six weeks.[5] "Pavilion" was released as a single and reached No. 33 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart,[4] while its B-side "S.R.V." is a tribute to guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan and features his elder brother Jimmie Vaughan as a guest soloist. "Camel's Night Out" is featured as downloadable content for the video game Guitar Hero World Tour (2008) and can also be exported to Guitar Hero 5 (2009).
The album's original title was to be Travel One Hope, but this was changed at the last minute by Capitol for "being too oblique."[6] Advance promotional CDs of Travel One Hope have since become a collector's item.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine at AllMusic gave Venus Isle three stars out of five, describing Johnson as a "consummate guitarist" and "a joy to hear him play". However, he criticized the album for not breaking any new ground following the six-year gap from its 1990 predecessor Ah Via Musicom, remarking that it "reveals no new insights about the guitarist, it only offers a new spin on the territory Ah! Via Musicom covered."[1]
Track listing[]
All tracks are written by Eric Johnson, except where noted.
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Venus Isle"
5:29
2.
"Battle We Have Won"
5:59
3.
"All About You"
8:20
4.
"S.R.V."
3:02
5.
"Lonely in the Night" (Vince Mariani)
6:05
6.
"Manhattan"
4:52
7.
"Camel's Night Out" (Kyle Brock, Mark Younger-Smith)
5:16
8.
"Song for Lynette"
4:54
9.
"When the Sun Meets the Sky" (Johnson, Steve Barber)