Blue River by Eric Andersen.

It was a lovely day yesterday, almost like Spring had arrived. I even managed to get a bit of gardening done. However, today is another story, back to grey skies and rain, so I thought I’d pass the time by telling you about an album I have been listening to recently. It is called Blue River by Eric Andersen, recorded in Nashville in 1972. I am amazed that I hadn’t discovered this music decades before now because this album is excellent. I first became aware of Eric a few months ago when I bought a 2CD compilation called Greenwich Village In The 60s. It contained a song by Eric called Close The Door Gently When You Go which I thought was great. Then more recently on youtube I heard another song I loved where Eric sang with Judy Collins called Thirsty Boots (See video below). This prompted me to read more about him. I learned that his most commercially successful and critically acclaimed album was Blue River. One reviewer compared it to Astral Weeks by Van Morrison. “That will do for me”, I thought, and bought a copy on eBay.

I am listening to the opening track Is It Really Love At All at this very moment. It is wonderful, but I don’t know where that reviewer got the Van idea from. The singer I was most immediately reminded of on this album is James Taylor. The production by Norbert Putnam throughout all these songs is first rate. This opening track has a very tasteful string and woodwind arrangement. Eric’s wife of the time Debbie Green sounds perfect on backing vocals. Debbie contributes a lot to several tracks on guitar, piano and vocals. I have read that Debbie taught Joan Baez how to play guitar and Joan imitated her voice and stole her repertoire. I don’t know how true that is though. Pearl’s Goodtime Blues is a tribute to Eric’s friend Janis Joplin. This track sounds Like The Band and even has ‘Rag, Mama, Rag’ in the lyrics. I see Kenny Buttrey who I know from his playing with Bob Dylan and Neil Young plays drums on this track and several others. 

Wind And Sand is much simpler with just Eric on piano and Norbert on bass. Simple, but very moving and effective, a melancholy meditation on the passage of time. Faithful is another wistful emotional song, but immediately accessible with a catchy chorus, quite country influenced. This song should have been a big hit. The title track Blue River is next, with Eric on piano. This has an epic gospel infused sound with the great Joni Mitchell on backing vocals. I’m sure Joni must have been influenced by this song when she was recording her album Blue (or vice-versa, maybe Eric got ideas from Joni). Florentine is another splendid track with Kenny’s percussion driving the song along, harpsichord courtesy of Gleen Spreen, guitar by Grady Martin. 

Sheila is the darkest song for me on this album. A wistful world-weary pleading song, possibly about the effects of heroin addiction. The haunting electric guitar adds to the feeling of desolation. It isn’t the kind of song associated with Nashville; it reminds me more of the denizens of New York’s Chelsea Hotel. More Often Than Not is the only track not written by Eric, David Wiffen an English-Canadian folk singer-songwriter wrote this one. It is more upbeat than Sheila, but the subject matter is again quite dark, a reflection on loneliness and betrayal. I see Rick Schlosser plays drums here. He played on three Van Morrison albums in this era of the early 70s. 

The final track is Round The Bend which is another introspective song of being alone, ‘stumbling hopelessly, yes I knew that man well, for that prisoner he was me’. This song has a full gospel treatment with The Jordanaires plus backing singers such as Florence Warner and Millie Kirkham. Eric plays piano on this truly epic wonderful song. It’s nice to see in the sleeve notes that Eric thanks Patti Smith for her help and friendship. Patti was still quite unknown in 1972. 

You will be pleased to know that Eric is 81 now and still singing and performing. The early 1970s were a golden era for great singer-songwriters like Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Leonard Cohen, Cat Stevens, James Taylor, Jackson Browne, you could go on and on, there were so many, so that might be why I overlooked Eric, but I think this album stands up very well indeed alongside all those people, so I am very pleased I finally discovered Eric Andersen, even if it took me over fifty years. Cheers.

JUDY COLLINS & ERIC ANDERSEN - "Thirsty Boots" 2002