Eric Andersen follows his critically-acclaimed album Memory of the Future with You Can't Relive the Past, a CD that explores the breath and depth of his musical talents. He travels in new musical directions on this recording, which integrates the best of Eric’s classic soul and sensuality with the Mississippi blues of Super Chikan and Sam Carr, the NY edge of Lou Reed, and the folk/country heart of Townes Van Zandt.
Starting off this eclectic mix is a classically beautiful, poignant song, “Eyes of the Immigrant,” destined to strike a chord in all of us. This deeply moving song features the tasteful guitar of Artie Traum. The title song was co-written and performed with rock legend Lou Reed in a Velvet Underground-tinged, acoustic guitar-driven style. Anthony DeCurtis, rock critic and writer for Rolling Stone magazine, says this song "comes together exactly right and is a defiant rebuke to the dying of the light."
The album also features four songs that were co-written by Eric and the late, legendary folk-country performer Townes Van Zandt (“The Meadowlark,” “The Blue March,” “Night Train,” and “The Road”). Never previously recorded formally, these songs were rediscovered last year on a tape of songs that Eric and Townes wrote together in New York City in 1986.
Showcasing the breadth of Eric’s musical abilities are five songs he recorded on location in Mississippi with musicians from the legendary Fat Possum Studios. On these blues-driven songs, Eric jams with such legendary musicians as drummer Sam Carr, guitarist James "Super Chikan" Johnson and slide guitarist Kenny Brown. Legends in their own time, they have recently been featured in two New York Times articles. You Can't Relive the Past allows Andersen to flex some musical muscles that don't typically get exercised, and the result is fabulous. It's a disc to come back to again and again. |
