Reflective. Angry. Opinionated. Unpretentious. Confident. These are just some of the words I jotted down as I listened to, Construction Time & Demolition, Wreckless Eric’s new album. Eric Goulden has been making music since the 70’s when he first emerged on Stiff Records in 1977 with the brilliant, Whole Wide World. On his latest release, Eric makes it clear that these are his songs, his music, his words and he wants you to know it. He begins with the title, Construction Time & Demolition, which gets straight to the point. Eric is looking ahead while he looks back as illustrated in the song 40 Years. You know he is addressing ghosts from his past, certainly not fondly, but definitely with honesty, the line “the wickedness of men” would be awkward in another writer’s hands, but Eric has no such problem. On Forget Who You Are, Eric teases us with the opening coda as he snarls, “everything is going to be groovy, like some happy crappy iPhone movie” but, is Eric giving advice or admonishing? That’s the wonderful conundrum of listening to Eric Goulden. Could The Two Of Us, be Eric’s version of a poignant love song? He doesn’t hesitate on this one to let us know what is important to him, as the intro builds he includes a cough, setting us up for the ever-increasing frantic pace of this song. Eric repeats the title over and over, not letting us forget what’s important to him. It should be noted that Eric’s wife, the very talented Amy Rigby has just released her own new album, The Old Guys, produced by Eric. His spirited production on Amy’s album is in full effect on Construction Time & Demolition. A master at telling a story and recounting his experiences, Eric displays his talent perfectly in Gateway To Europe. You don’t have to know all the references, but this is a song that deserves repeated listening. Eric is an accomplished rock and roll guitarist, a lot of bands could do well from listening to this album, the cut, Wow & Flutter is Wreckless Eric is full force, that would be a good start. Wreckless Eric’s new album, Construction Time & Demolition will be released next week.

Norman B April 1, 2018

Norman B’s review of Wreckless Eric’s album, Construction Time & Demolition will air on our next show #266

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Show #266