Saturday, November 08, 2008

by Franco

Eric Andersen - Blue River (1972)
























Eric Andersen - Sweet Surprise (1976)























A brief biography (grabbed from amazon):
Eric Andersen has maintained a career as a folk-based singer/songwriter since the 1960s. In contrast to such peers as Tom Paxton and Phil Ochs, Andersen's writing has had a romantic/philosophical/poetic bent for the most part, rather than a socially conscious one, though one of his best-known songs, "Thirsty Boots," has as its background the Freedom Rides of the early '60s. (The song has been recorded by Judy Collins and others.)After emerging from the Northeast folk-club circuit, Andersen began to record in 1965 with Today Is the Highway. His second album, Bout Changes & Things, contained some of his most accomplished writing, including the highly poetic "Violets of Dawn," "Thirsty Boots," and "I Shall Go Unbounded." All were sung in Andersen's flexible tenor (he shaded toward a baritone later), backed by rapid, intricate fingerpicking. In the late '60s and early '70s, Andersen experimented with country, pop, and rock music, settling on an amalgamation by the time of his masterpiece Blue River in 1972. This was also his most commercially successful album, but Andersen, like friends Leonard Cohen and Townes Van Zandt, was always too serious-minded for the mainstream. In the '70s and '80s, he recorded sporadically while playing folk clubs around the U.S. and especially in Europe, where he took up residence. His later material, including 1989's Ghosts Upon the Road, recalls his work in the '60s as it ruefully reflects on that decade. The '90s saw Andersen collaborate with friends like Rick Danko and Jonas Fjeld on Danko/Fjeld/Andersen, as well as release a solo album, 1998's Memory of the Future; Andersen also oversaw the release of Stages: The Lost Album as well as a 1999 reissue of Blue River. You Can't Relive the Past followed early the next year. Beat Avenue from 2003 was an ambitious double CD while 2004's The Street Was Always There was a nostalgic look back at the music of the New York Greenwich Village scene of the early to mid-'60s. Waves from 2005 was another album of covers, but with broader material. Anderson released Blue Rain in May 2007. - William Ruhlmann

I have 20 cds of Eric!

Cheers!

10 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Can't wait to find the remaining 18 here.

08 November, 2008 05:50  
Blogger hodagg said...

First john Stewart and now Eric Andersen. Man! You're on a roll. Thanks!!

08 November, 2008 06:23  
Blogger Psyclist said...

I remember seeing Anderson a few times in the mid 90's in a package tour with David Olney (anyone interested in hime, I have several of him), Townes van Zandt, Guy Clark, Alex Chilton, Tom Pacheco and a few others. He made quite an impression on me especially because I had totally forgotten how good the two albums here offered by Franco are.

Excellent download.

Peter

08 November, 2008 08:44  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks a lot for this!!

Get hold of mid seventies Eric Anderson is not easy. Remember being disapointed with Sweet Surpize after Blue River and have waited a long time to ssee if my disapointment was justified.

Thanks again.

08 November, 2008 10:31  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I brought the Blue River LP in the mid 70's as a cutout (remember those?). I liked it a lot then but it wasn't quite a favorite. Anyway getting to hear albums on the Internet that I haven't heard in 30 years is often disappointing as they don't seem as good as I remembered them. The opposite seems to be true in this case and I was pleasantly surprised. I'll have to check out the other E. Anderson soon. Thanks for sharing,
Dave

08 November, 2008 12:35  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I have send to Liz this couple to taste the flavour of Eric works...
Next couples will be in cronological order. I love Eric and Blue River is a totem for me!
Yes, it's a little bit commercial work, but it remember me the best years of my life...
Enjoy this great artist!

Franco

08 November, 2008 17:04  
Blogger Acoustic in pAris said...

Eric Andersen's managhement charges $100 to anyone whho doesn't spell his name right :-) So watch out!!!

I presented Eric four times in my Acoustic in Paris series, including the very last shows as a cobill with Iain Mattthews and Ad Vanderveen. David Olney is a good friend too, and IMHO on e of the very best songweiters around (don't tell me about Ray Lamontagne...)

www.acousticinparis.com

08 November, 2008 17:33  
Blogger Acoustic in pAris said...

-> David Olney (anyone interested in hime, I have several of him)

Peter, can you please get in touch?

Thanks,

Herve, acoustic@mysongwriters.com

08 November, 2008 17:36  
Blogger Psyclist said...

Uploading some David Olney ... I have total 8, will give them to lizard tom morning.

I have and will upload:

Real Lies
Migration
Leonora
Omars blues
Roses
High, Wide And Lonesome
One Tough Town
Deeper well (still my favorite)

Will all upload in the next days

Peter

08 November, 2008 20:23  
Blogger Miles said...

cheers, my friend! thanks for the generous andersen collection. i have already long had most of them on vinyl, but 'bc&t, take 2' has always eluded me. some 40 years later, i will now finally hear it.

30 November, 2008 08:02  

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