Rejected Unknown in Bloomington, MN

The title of
Rejected Unknown
might be aimed at
Atlantic Records
, who held
Johnston
in contractual limbo for years with little support or promotion after his major-label debut, 1994's
Fun
.
was finally dropped by
Atlantic
, and the long since-completed
finally emerged on
Gammon Records
in 2001 (after a planned
Tim Kerr
release was scrapped). While the music on
can at first sound overly self-deprecating and even angry at times,
is actually painting a much larger picture -- a picture of endless longing for acceptance, hopeless romanticism, and unrequited love. On the rollicking piano-driven
"I Lose,"
sings "Got left out of the 'in' crowd/I seen their type/A bunch of buttwipes that rule," at once as sarcastic as
Randy Newman
and with the endearing quality for which
has become known. Plus,
's musical contribution to the album is far greater than on
, adding piano, guitar, and even percussion to many tracks. As with most of
's albums, there are a few songs that just fall flat or come off as a little too coy, but overall, it's a quality addition to the catalog of one of songwriting's true originals. ~ Jason Nickey