Robb Johnson - The Optimist Hotel [CD]

Format: CD
Catalogue No.: IRR132CD
Barcode: 5060749890800
Release Date: 03 Oct 2025
Genre: Folk  / Rock

In The Optimist Hotel, there’s a man who makes roses out of paper napkins, a boy growing up in the 1960s, a man who didn’t teach Keith Richards how to play guitar, some soldiers who fought back at Bamber Bridge, a girl looking for her cat in Jenin, a woman who feeds the foxes, a woman who sells the Big Issue, the woman responsible for Animal Farm, & a couple sheltering from the rain. On the CD version there’s also a song about the anarchist philosopher Kropotkin too.
Recorded at Room 13 Studio in Gent, where Robb recorded 2024’s highly acclaimed Pennypot Lane, the album features contributions by Flemish Folk diva Vera Coomans on vocals, Yves Meerschaut on piano & Saskia Tomkins on viola. Vera was the female voice on the original production of Robb’s WW1 Gentle Men song suite, Yves provided sublime piano on last year’s album, & Saskia has played with Robb in various bands & on various albums for over 25 years.
Robb’s widely recognised as one of the UK’s finest songwriters:
“An English original”, (Robin Denselow, The Guardian).
“A national treasure” (Mike Harding).
“One of this country’s most important songwriters (no contest)” (fRoots).
“In my view one of the best songwriters this country has produced in many a year… the appellation National Treasure is often over-used, but in Robb’s case it is entirely appropriate” (St Edith’s Folk).
“One of Britain’s finest songwriters, a genuine folk legend” (Twickfolk)

TRACKLISTING
Side one
1 The Optimist Hotel
2 Wide-eyed
3 Wizz Jones Plays Guitar
4 The Battle of Bamber Bridge
5 Jana is 16
Side two
6 In Favour of Wild Things
7 No Place Like Home
8 Eileen O’Shaughnessy
9 Tout Va Bien