Eric Andersen is an American folk musician that was part of the Greenwich Village folk scene like other artists such as Phil Ochs and Bob Dylan. In 1969 when Andersen moved to the Warner Brothers label, he became part of the Festival Express tour across Canada with artists such as Janis Joplin, The Band, and the Grateful Dead. I’m just now seeing that Andersen cowrote “Weather Report Suite, Part I” with Bob Weir, and now I’m even more excited to give this album a listen. Though this album, A Country Dream (1969), was his last album before signing with Warner Brothers records, I’m increasingly excited to give this album a listen. With that said, I’m going to jump on into the music.
“(Sitting On) The Dock of the Bay” starts out with a slow folksy groove that has a bit of a country tinge in the twang of the guitar and in the feel of the bass line. Oh wow, the tune keeps getting increasingly layered with more instruments, at times with some accentuations from a piano and now from a pedal steel guitar. I’m really digging this track at the moment. The sound vaguely reminds me of some cross between some Tim Buckley from around the same time period mixed with some country flavors of a group like Longbranch/Pennywhistle. Holy smokes, the delicate approach from Andersen’s vocals sound like they’re delivered with such care. Holy smokes, the whistling keys come in with a ton of flavor, and seem to trade with some actual whistling from Andersen. I’m already hooked into this album, and I can’t wait to hear the rest of the tracks. Great tune.
“All I Remember Is You” starts out with a bit of a gentle rollicking sound, which seems to remind me vaguely of other singer/songwriter musicians from the time like John Sebastian’s solo work. Holy smokes, the country inflection to the track is infectious, as the drums and bass seem to get the tune grooving with a bit of a country feeling beat, while the pedal steel guitar has that country sky sound that I always dig, while the soft rollicks of the piano almost bring in a bit of a softer rock and roll sound. Great track.
Oh wow, “Deborah, I Love You” starts out with some very warm piano that seems to create a sound as though the piano is the gentle ripples across a glass-like pond surface in an enchanted forest, while the acoustic guitar and pedal steel guitar seem to bring a sound that seems to evoke a magical fog rolling across the surface that is both coaxed along and cleared by Andersen’s vocals. The loving sound in this track seems to be palpable, especially as the different gentle accentuations are added to the melody as the music continues. Great song.
“Devon, You Look Like Heaven” has a false start followed by some studio chatter, but soon gets going with a quick line from a horn instrument (or possibly a saxophone) that is soon joined by a rollicking sound from a piano that has a bit of an old west saloon sound, which is accentuated with some southern flavor with what sounds to be a mandolin accompanying a flavorful country beat. Great track.
“Eyes Gently Rolling” returns back a sweet sound that takes the form of gentle and sweet vocals from Andersen, which is accompanied by an earthy-sounding country folk electric guitar line, in the background, while a folksy acoustic guitar adds accentuations to the melody from the side of the soundscape. Oh wow, the tune seems to be picking up a bit of steam as more layers come into the soundscape with a bigger sounding bass line, some pedal steel guitar, and some drums momentarily as well. Oh wow, at this point the tune has become a sweet country folk tune, and I’m digging the sound. The tune seems to become more folksier in nature as the tune progresses, and the gradual evolution is super sweet to hear. Great tune.
“Just a Country Dream” starts out with some earthy folksy acoustic guitar that seems to slowly pick up a southwestern, near the border vibe when the mandolin comes in and rains some delicate notes into the soundscape, while the rhythm section has a country sound that reminds me a fair deal of The Byrds’ album, Sweetheart of the Rodeo (1968). Oh wow, the gallop of the drums combined with the pedal steel guitar and what sounds to be a gentle parlor-sounding piano come together for a sound that sounds like a soundtrack playing in an old cowboy’s head as he rides through the southwest to try to get back to his sweetheart. Wow, I’m really digging this tune. Great track.
“Lovesick Blues” starts out with a sound that almost immediately sounds like a country howlin’ blues tune, which has such a flavorful sound when the earthy country and southwestern sounds are combined with that bluesy howling in the track. Wow, great tune.
“Second Time Around” has a sound that sounds so familiar to me, almost as though I’ve heard a similar tune by either Bob Dylan or the Grateful Dead, except this one sounds like a version that might have been played by the New Riders of the Purple Sage. The rollicking country blues-inflected flavor is awesome – the harmonica combined with the bluesy twang of the guitar is super flavorful, especially as the piano slowly rollicks around in the background with some groovy licks and lines. The tune sounds possibly influenced by the Hank Williams tune, “You Win Again”, based on some of the lyrics and melody if I’m remembering correctly. Great track.
Holy smokes, “Smashville Jam” gets grooving along with some twangy guitars, flavorful bass lines, some jangling tambourines and acoustic guitars, and even some swirling organs that bring a sound that reminds me very much of the early 1970s Grateful Dead with the infusion of country into their far-out psychedelic jams. Holy smokes, this instrumental jam keeps giving more even as the song fades away. Great jam tune.
Oh wow, “Waves of Freedom” starts out with some very folksy guitar work and some gentle vocals that almost reminds me a bit of the Simon & Garfunkel tune, “America”. Oh wow, more layers come into the soundscape in the form of a gentle repetitious strumming of an acoustic guitar that seems to bring a bit of a percussive feel to the soundscape, and some pedal steel guitar and church organs that seem to alternate gently and gradually swelling in from the sides of the soundscape. Oh wow, the gentle and simple bass comes in and seems to gently move the tune forward. Oh wow, now both the church organs and pedal steel are playing on the sides of the soundscape at the same time, bringing an abundance of flavor to this already abundantly flavorful track. Oh wow, there’s some accentuations from an acoustic guitar that seems to make the tune feel more dynamic while adding even more flavor. Great track and a super sweet way to finish this album.
Holy smokes, this album is awesome. The album touches on a range of country flavors, at times being more folksy in nature, to hitting some country blues, sounding like the music might be heard in an old west Texas saloon, and even contains some jams that remind me a bit of the direction that a lot of psychedelic rock was headed in at times. Plus there are elements that I recognized from singer/songwriters of the time period as well, which only adds to the range of music heard in the album. If you dig mixtures of different country styles, ranging from folksy to bluesy to jam-like, and/or you enjoy singer/songwriters from the late 1960s and early 1970s, you might want to consider checking out this album. If you do decide to give this album a listen, I sincerely hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A