Eric Andersen

Between 1965 and 1969, Eric Andersen made his mark as the resident romantic of the East Coast folk scene. He also drifted through various musical styles and phases during this period. The Best of Eric Andersen (originally two LPs, reissued on one CD) covers his journeys through Woody Guthrie-style folk ("Dusty Box Car Wall," "My Land Is a Good Land"), Dylanesque imagery ("The Hustler, "a diatribe written for Dylan), folk-rock (he rerecorded his most popular album of the time, 'Bout Changes and Things, with a three-piece band), country ("Just a Country Dream") and poetic love songs ("Violets of Dawn"), and it's a good introduction to Andersen's inconsistent early career. All of his best-known songs from the Vanguard years are here, including "Thirsty Boots," inspired by civil rights organizer Gil Turner, the country-folk "Close the Door Lightly," the exquisite "Violets of Dawn" and the tradition-based American folk of "Dusty Box Car Wall." Andersen, whose long and varied career has ranged from brilliant to lackluster, is an artist desperately in need of a comprehensive anthology. Of the three collections of his material released over the years (two concentrate on his work with particular labels), only the long-deleted The Best Songs (1977) included tracks from his best record, Blue River(1972), which is indispensable on its own and a must for any Eric Andersen retrospective. ~ Brett Hartenbach, All Music Guide