Customer Reviews

Gulf Coast Highway

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Eric Lindell again offers up some of the most smoky, sensual, soulful vocals I have heard in a long long time. Combined with the funky, bluesy, rockin' performances from a band of well-seasoned musicians, this CD defies genre identification. I've seen it listed as "blues", "funk", "alternative", "rock", and even "country". It is all of these and so much more.
For fans of blues, harp, saxaphone (the most sensual of all instruments), with california psychedelia and cajun/jazz/funk influences evocative of The Meters. Eric's stage persona rivals the best of the Springsteen shows I've seen in my lifetime, I'm still waiting for the breakthrough moment for this artist, and can't wait to catch him again when he swings through New England.
Buy this CD, and buy multiple copies to share with your friends. You will then quickly seek out "Low on Cash" as well as "Change in the Weather". One taste of this is not enough.

Eric Lindell is definitely one to watch. His raspy but evocative voice with a clear lineage from classic R&B gets him labeled as "blue-eyed soul," but his sound is more eclectic than that, combining R&B, blues, funk, rock, and country in a distinctive and upbeat sound that is distinctly Southern, with a strong New Orleans flavor. He is a competent but not flashy guitarist whose music somehow sounds both fresh and anachronistic. He reminds me most of Anders Osborne, except that he puts more emphasis on horn arrangements than guitar.

This is his most polished and most rock-sounding album. The polish doesn't necessarily make it better than his previous works, just different. There is a lot to be said for loose and organic, particularly for music with a New Orleans flavor. However, this is also his most tight album, probably due to the outstanding rhythm section of Stanton Moore and Rob Mercurio (Galactic). This album finds its groove, and never lets up.

Further listening: Anders Osborne (in particular, Which Way to Here, and Living Room), Damon Fowler, Mofro, Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears, The Bridge (Blind Man's Hill).

Decent CD... Could do without the gushy Obama love song... Doesn't fit the rest of the album... and its goofy. This CD still doen't rival "Change in the Weather" in my book....