Still Life
by Kris Garnjost
I have to admit when I got Eric James Erskine's latest album, "Still
Life," I had high hopes. Almost two years ago, I reviewed his last album
and said nice things and gave it a "9." It was a well produced album of
strong songs sung with a wonderful voice.
On his new album, Erskine has met every one of my expectations and exceeded
them. This is a beautiful album. Erskine's voice has matured, rounded and
mellowed. Before, his excellent tenor voice was almost too high. Now it is
just about the perfect tenor for popular music.
Tom Dean is again the man behind the album. His production is almost
flawless. His musical accompaniment is right there as well. It's a good
thing, because he plays almost all the instruments except Erskine's
acoustic guitar and Tom Yoder's violin and mandolin. Yoder adds outstanding
highlights to several of the songs. His violin on "All The Answers" is a
haunting final touch on a great song.
There are nine tracks on this album and all of them are exceptional. It is
hard to pick favorites. My first choice if I have to make one, is a great
swing song called "Almost An Angel." There is a delightful bounce to this
one, some great background vocals, and Tom Yoder's swinging fiddle licks.
This is one to listen to over and over again.
Another extra special one is "All The Answers." It is a wonderful story
about the roles of parent and child. It starts with the singer remembering
how he looked up to his parent. In the end of the song thechild is grown up
and preparing to be a parent.
"Memphis Blue" offers something a little different than the typical
singer/songwriter fare. The song has an almost surreal sound to it. The
lyrics are mysterious and cryptic. And Dean uses an electric guitar with a
lot of reverb effect to add to the atmosphere. It gives a bit of the Twin
Peaks soundtrack sound.
Some are more conventional singer/songwriter type music, but that is not to
discount it at all. Dean has given the lush full sound and Erskine's lyrics
are always interesting, sometimes profound, and always
well-crafted.
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November
by - Bennie Green
Eric Erskine has been around, literally, having done the singer /
songwriter and top 40 bit on the West Coast as well as in these parts. The
result is a nicely rounded songwriting touch and a super vocal presentation
that occasionally rings of Dan Fogelberg in each of their upper registers.
The songs are in fact so good that a publishing deal alone would make Erskine a household name. " The Ballad of Martha Brown " perfectly evokes
the sad spectacle of people obliviously growing old, then becoming
expendable to even the people closest to them. I can hear any number of
country or pop crooners, male or female, singing the
ready-to-fall-in-love-again song " Isn't It Time " in front of some
poignant video backdrop. Likewise "Innocent Eyes," written to a child about
grief sure to come.
Really, it's rare in Maine or anywhere else to find a guy like Erskine,
whose voice is pure and whose songwriting is the envy of those who don't
have the knack. November is so good that we'll even allow that the total
lack of credits might be due to the fact that our copy was a cassette dub.
Remember the name. |
