50 Americana Albums You Should Hear Before You Die - California Heart

California Heart by Jonny Kaplan was released independently in 1997 and earned the accolade of Mojo's Alternative Country Album of the month.
It was subsequently released in 1999 on Ripe Records in the States and Glitterhouse in Europe.
It was probably the inclusion of Ballad of a Lovesick Yankee (topical song for Independence Day) on the great Glitterhouse compilation Come Fly With Us which first brought him to my attention.
My copy of California Heart is on the US label suggesting that I maybe bought it at a concert. I've a vague recollection of perhaps having seen him at King Tuts as a support act to someone else but my ticket box is yielding no clues..

In truth no other songs on the album come close to matching BoaLY  and there are probably albums on the shelves which never made the cut when I drew up this list on a November night in 2019 that are better.. But the rules is the rules and it is staying in. I may have a dilema in a few weeks  though about another album on the lst.
The title song and the opener Big 'Ol Bob are probably the best of the rest.

He has  only ever released four albums , three of which are as Jonny Kaplan and the Lazy Stars. Very lazy stars some might argue. George pushed 2013's Sparkle & Shine in my direction . I haven't played it for a while but my recollection was that it was pretty good.


Jonny Kaplan -Ballad of a Lovesick Yankee

Jonny Kaplan - Big 'Ol Bob

Jonny Kaplin - California Heart