His songwriting ability should not be ignored. From the poignant quest for the love of the perfect woman in his 1977 seminal hit, Whole Wide World to the sharp autobiographical, Father To The Man from his recent album, Transience. And, his musicianship should not be underestimated. As demonstrated throughout his career on numerous recordings, not least of all, Transience where his savvy as a true rock and roll guitarist, arranger and producer is in full effect. He is Eric Goulden, better known as Wreckless Eric, a frequent guest on Life Elsewhere. In an excellent review of Transience for Soundblab, Howard Scott closes with this, “It has been brought to my attention that many people in Britain count Wreckless Eric as a one-hit-wonder from decades ago. I find that not only strange but somewhat tragic. Apparently, too many people just weren’t listening to what was being offered, for a myriad of reasons.  From what I have managed to absorb Goulden’s long career, he is still improving with age, and the best just may be still to come. If life was as fair as we would all like it to be, Wreckless Eric should be a national treasure.” Well said, Howard. In A Conversation With Wreckless Eric, we discuss Transience, Eric tells stories, and, he recounts how hard the past year had been for him with the death of his mother. “I had to do something.” Says Eric, “So I made this album.” In all the times Eric has appeared on the show, we have come to expect his commentaries will be forthright, sometimes blunt. This time, Eric reflects on life and death, yet he is animated and seemingly optimistic. The conversation is hardly ever morbid as Eric easily throws in a witty comment here or a sardonic observation there. “I’ve lived my life in episodes.” Announces Eric. Thankfully, we were able to document his latest.

Show #334