And the reviews are in
Oct. 31st, 2003 03:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ericcolemanAnd here it is ... courtesy of The Iowa Entertainer - www.iowaentertainer.com ... it will be up in the web sometime next week.
Review by Will Phoenix
Ok, so everyone should pay close attention right now because this guy is hilarious. Eric's satirical look at life, mixed with a somewhat serious folk feel, makes for an interesting sophomore CD. That's right folks, he's admittedly fat, old, furry and he's finally created his first full length CD. Much respect Eric!!
The lyrics throughout this album were predominately comical, but he was able to include some really impressive serious tunes as well. All of the songs are extremely story oriented in one way or another. Some of them told just one story while others had stories within themselves. Eric manages to write about everything from rock shows and mosh pits, to getting laid and overdoing plastic surgery so much that the woman "looked like a llama". Above all else, he was not afraid to laugh at himself and while on the subject of women and himself, he went so far as to call the word "friend" the original "F" word. Absolutely awesome, I could not agree more!
Now you have to understand, there is nothing really amazing about Eric's voice. It is steady, crisp and fairly strong though. He uses a lot of dynamic changes throughout each song and effectively gives a very emotional performance. He pushes his range just enough to hear and get that folk feeling in there. There were no harmonies, no extras, nothing but his voice and his guitar, which is kind of nice to hear every now and then. Eric played his acoustic guitar with dedication to the cause. There are no lead lines, no bass guitar and no drums, just straight forward strumming. Now I know, most of you out there want to hear more than just a guy and his guitar. Don't get me wrong; I'm the same way. All I'm saying is that sometimes change is good. Eric effectively wrote each song so that no two sounded the same. He did this by including many different rhythms. He alternates from strumming, to fingerpicking and uses even more dynamic volume changes here than in his voice. Some of the songs had a driving rhythm behind them, while others maintained a steady flow. It would be interesting to hear these songs with a full band or even just one or two other instruments, but I never really felt like anything was missing from the songs.
All in all, I would say that this is a nice, simple CD. It will make you laugh, it will make you think, but most of all, it will make you thankful that this guy is not your dad. Just kidding. In all honesty, it takes a lot of guts to put out a CD of just yourself and a guitar with nothing else to back you up. There are no effects and no extras, just Eric. I give him much respect for opening up his world, however strange it may be, and I hope he continues to do so.
Review by Will Phoenix
Ok, so everyone should pay close attention right now because this guy is hilarious. Eric's satirical look at life, mixed with a somewhat serious folk feel, makes for an interesting sophomore CD. That's right folks, he's admittedly fat, old, furry and he's finally created his first full length CD. Much respect Eric!!
The lyrics throughout this album were predominately comical, but he was able to include some really impressive serious tunes as well. All of the songs are extremely story oriented in one way or another. Some of them told just one story while others had stories within themselves. Eric manages to write about everything from rock shows and mosh pits, to getting laid and overdoing plastic surgery so much that the woman "looked like a llama". Above all else, he was not afraid to laugh at himself and while on the subject of women and himself, he went so far as to call the word "friend" the original "F" word. Absolutely awesome, I could not agree more!
Now you have to understand, there is nothing really amazing about Eric's voice. It is steady, crisp and fairly strong though. He uses a lot of dynamic changes throughout each song and effectively gives a very emotional performance. He pushes his range just enough to hear and get that folk feeling in there. There were no harmonies, no extras, nothing but his voice and his guitar, which is kind of nice to hear every now and then. Eric played his acoustic guitar with dedication to the cause. There are no lead lines, no bass guitar and no drums, just straight forward strumming. Now I know, most of you out there want to hear more than just a guy and his guitar. Don't get me wrong; I'm the same way. All I'm saying is that sometimes change is good. Eric effectively wrote each song so that no two sounded the same. He did this by including many different rhythms. He alternates from strumming, to fingerpicking and uses even more dynamic volume changes here than in his voice. Some of the songs had a driving rhythm behind them, while others maintained a steady flow. It would be interesting to hear these songs with a full band or even just one or two other instruments, but I never really felt like anything was missing from the songs.
All in all, I would say that this is a nice, simple CD. It will make you laugh, it will make you think, but most of all, it will make you thankful that this guy is not your dad. Just kidding. In all honesty, it takes a lot of guts to put out a CD of just yourself and a guitar with nothing else to back you up. There are no effects and no extras, just Eric. I give him much respect for opening up his world, however strange it may be, and I hope he continues to do so.
