Every now and then, an album pops up that makes you wonder what could’ve happened back then, when it was originally released, to make it almost unnoticeable. One of those albums certainly must be the one by an American guy named Erik, released on Vanguard in 1968.
There’s a funny supposition that the label might’ve gave up on him, because he was the one too many, among Erik(c)s on the label (Erik Darling, formerly of The Weavers and Eric Anderson), though I’m not really sure neither of them had an album so incredibly kaleidoscopic like this one.
It’s pretty hard to “look where he really is” because he keeps jumping back-and-forth from Love-ly “forever changing” arrangements (title track, Lights Across The Field …) through Donovan/Drake influenced folky-psych moods (Painted On The Wall, Dead Afternoon Song), all put through jazzy Zombies-like sophistication, to baroque pop styling (Georgeann) and even some fuzzy garage psych (You Said/But I’ve Got My Way).
Funnily enough, it seems as if he had known what his destiny was, so maybe that’s what he was trying to say with the album title. Hopefully, now everyone will know at least where the album is, if not where Erik himself is … anyone?
[Released by Radioactive 2004]
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