Harrison/Johnston – Early Mercy

What do you get when you bring English drummer Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree, King Crimson, Pineapple Thief) and Canadian guitarist Nick Johnston (Intervals, Plini, Polyphia, Periphery, Mastodon) together on an album? No, not prog metal; that’s too obvious. The right answer is: fusion, with a touch of prog. Or, as Johnston himself puts it: ‘weird psychedelic music inspired by 70s fusion like Return To Forever, Weather Report, and Mahavishnu Orchestra’. Long instrumental pieces with plenty of melody featuring the fantastic combination of a virtuoso guitarist and the unparalleled prog drummer. Aided by bassist Evan Marien (Allan Holdsworth, Dana Hawkins, Virgil Donati), with Nick Johnston adding substantial keyboard sections to flesh out the arrangements.

The two musicians previously worked together on Nick Johnston’s 2016 solo album Remarkably Human, however for this latest collaboration, Early Mercy, is co-produced by both musicians and contains eight tracks with a total length of just under an hour. The composition process took place in the now-familiar way: sending music files back and forth. In this case, Gavin Harrison’s rhythmically odd time signature tracks were often the trigger, prompting Johnston to respond and embellish these concepts with his own harmonic flourishes. Sounds complicated, but actually it isn’t. Although Johnston admitted that this album is ‘the most experimental thing I’ve ever done’.

This may be a tad exaggerated. I mainly hear extremely enjoyable and, above all, relaxed fusion/jazz rock. With wonderfully long melodic guitar lines, supported by extremely tasteful keyboard parts, both by multi-instrumentalist Nick Johnston. Played over the tight and sometimes inimitably offbeat rhythms of drummer Gavin Harrison and his bass-playing partner, Evan Marien. It’s definitely not a solo album by a guitarist or drummer; quite the opposite: it sounds much more like a mature and cohesive band at work here. With a heavy emphasis on melody and, above all, plenty of space between the notes. Refreshing, because jazz-rock has a knack for cramming as many notes in as possible. But these guys don’t need a tsunami of notes to underscore their virtuosity; ‘less is more’ is the adage. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule, and both men occasionally risk going off the rails. But in time, the handbrake is applied and simplicity resumes; a sheer class act.

Nick Johnston is talking about ’70s jazz rock, which I understand, but I’m mainly hearing more modern bands like Legacy Pilots, Simon Phillips’ Protocol, and guitarists like Nick Fletcher, Matteo Mancuso, Pat Metheny, and Eric Johnson as a point of reference. Highlights include the ten-minute-opening track Sorcerer, which has a shorter sequel later in the album, Sorcerer II. But the title track Early Mercy and the closing track, also ten-minute-long, When The Flesh Was Cast Away, also stand up to scrutiny.

An excellent album by Gavin Harrison and Nick Johnston. Hopefully, there will be a sequel and we’ll get to see the duo live. I’ll definitely be in the front row when that happens.

TRACK LISTING
01. Sorcerer (10:06)
02. Early Mercy (6:40)
03. Seawater (6:01)
04. Misericorde (7:16)
05. Flourish And Perish (6:54)
06. High Cost Of Wishing (4:20)
07. Sorcerer II (4:41)
08. When The Flesh Was Cast Away (9:37)

Total Time – 55:35

MUSICIANS
Gavin Harrison – Drums, Percussion
Nick Johnston – Guitars, Keyboards
Evan Marien – Bass

ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: Sheet Happens Publishing
Country of Origin: UK/CA
Date of Release: 1^st August 2025