Eric Andersen - So Much on My Mind: The Eric Andersen Anthology 1969-1980

Most 70s singer-songwriters owe something to him

Give us a clip-clop rhythm, a pedal-steel guitar and a modicum of lyrical ability and we’re quite happy, thanks. Add Eric Andersen’s talent and we’re delighted to have (re)discovered an overlooked 60s troubadour.

Andersen was a contemporary of Dylan’s Greenwich Village gang (Phil Ochs, Tim Hardin) and the forerunner for many of the singersongwriters who made it big in the 70s, none more so than Jackson Browne (dark, moody, an eye for the ladies). Listening to some of these tracks it becomes clear that David Crosby, among others, must have been paying attention to work such as the opening track Secrets: the mix of traditional acoustic guitar picking, vocal harmonies and plangent electric guitar foreshadows many of the next generation.

But while the opening few tracks really mix things up, Andersen (at least judging by the selection available for this compilation) gets a bit more predictable as time goes by – there’s a touch of Elton John in western mode, a shade of Harry Chapin and even a dose of Leonard Cohen in Woman, She Was Gentle.

The last few tracks find him reverting to earlier work and there’s a great version of Thirsty Boots, recorded live, which demonstrates clearly why he deserves to be remembered.

3 stars 3 stars 3 stars

Raven | RVCD-247

Reviewed by Tim Holmes
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