Eric Andersen, The Street Was Always There - 1h 3m 29s

Tracks & Durations

1. Little Bit of Rain (Fred Neil)	5:16
2. These 23 Days in September (David Blue)	6:05
3. Universal Soldier (Sainte-Marie)	2:39
4. Johnny Half-Breed (Peter LaFarge)	5:43
5. Waves of Freedom (Andersen)	4:40
6. I Ain't Marching Anymore (Ochs)	5:25
7. Louise (Paul Siebel)	3:45
8. Misty Roses (Tim Hardin)	3:52
9. White Boots Marching in a Yellow Land (Ochs)	5:21
10. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (Dylan)	9:42
11. Many a Mile (Patrick Sky)	2:54
12. The Other Side of This Life (Fred Neil)	3:48
13. The Street Was Always There (Andersen)	3:23
14. Phil Ochs speaks	0:46

Note: The information about this album is acquired from the publicly available resources and we are not responsible for their accuracy.

Review

Having continued to turn out a body of consistently brilliant--if recently overlooked--original work since the 1960s, Andersen here decides to cover tunes from that fertile era. The period saw a spate of songs written to effect social change, like Buffy Sainte-Marie's "Universal Soldier," Phil Ochs's "I Ain't Marching Anymore," and, more elliptically, Bob Dylan's "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall." Other artists covered, like Tim Hardin, Paul Siebel, and Fred Neil, dealt with more personal realms; radio play and "hits" were not an issue. These still relevant tunes prove that Andersen and his cohorts set a songwriting standard that has yet to be beaten--and is rarely equaled. --Michael RossEric Andersen, one of America's premier singer-songwriters, puts aside his original material (for the most part) to "sing as freshly as possible the songs I first heard sung in the streets, cafes, and clubs by certain performing songwriters in the 1960s Greenwich Village" on "The Street Was Always There." Andersen presents passionate new versions of classics and forgotten gems written by his '60s elders, contemporaries, and friends - Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Fred Neil, Tim Hardin, Peter La Farge, Patrick Sky, David Blue, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Paul Siebel.

On "The Street Was Always There," Andersen presents the many creative facets on the '60s Village-based songwriters, spanning the protest and personal approaches to "folk music" and proving the timelessness of both. With vibrant production by multi-instrumentalist Robert Aaron (leader of international hip-hop/rap star Wyclef Jean's band), Andersen applies his time-seasoned baritone to all-too-relevant anti-war songs - Dylan's "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall," Sainte-Marie's "Universal Soldier," Ochs's "I Ain't Marching Anymore" and "White Boots Marching in a Yellow Land" - the latter featuring an explosive rap by guest Wyclef Jean, who also plays electric guitar and bass on the track - as well as two of Fred Neil's bluesy ballads, a shimmering bossa nova take on Tim Hardin's "Misty Roses, and an unsettling version of David Blue's "These 23 Days in September," among others. Andersen also revisits his own "Waves of Freedom" from 1969 and provides the newly-penned title track, a tribute to the Village community of the '60s and to the endless options for expression and experience provided by the metaphorical "street." Joining Andersen (vocals, electric guitar) and Aaron (bass, guitar, keyboards, melodica, woodwinds) are special guests Wyclef Jean, ex-Lovin' Spoonful leader and solo artist John Sebastian, fellow '60s songwriter Patrick Sky, guitarist Pete Kennedy of the roots/pop duo The Kennedys, longtime Woodstock musician (and fellow Village graduate) Happy Traum (acoustic guitar), and a cast of top-flight sidemen. The CD booklet includes numerous historic photographs of the songwriters whose work is brought back to the public ear on this CD.

Please note: we do not provide any Eric Andersen music downloads, have no any mp3 music including music samples and music ringtones, and can not assist you where to buy music CDs and used CDs. You can search for it on music sites all over the Internet or visit one of our advertisers. We appreciate any ideas and comments about this experimental music database.