Customer Reviews

Stages: The Lost Album

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4 star:		(2)
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The master tapes of this classic album originally recorded in the early 1970s was actually lost by the record company for over twenty years before finally being released in the early 1990s. It shows with stunning brilliance just how powerful a poet, song writer, and performer legendary folk stalwart Eric Andersen really is. Like his fabled best-selling album "Blue River", the picture portrayed here is one of a folk artist at the peak of his creative powers, with wondrously complex, perverse, and intimate lyrics that reveal the depths of Andersen's interior vision. Also as with the former album, this "lost album " provides the listener a glimpse at a number of thoughtful, poignant, and philosophic views into both Andersen himself and the world as he saw it during a period of personal difficulty and inner turmoil. Eric Andersen is nothing if not a consummate writer, performer, and interpreter of classic folk melodies and subjects, and he delivers on his considerable promise. Certainly both earlier and later professional efforts by Andersen indicate just how talented and durable his abilities as a writer and performer he is.

Here he is in superb form, with original songs ranging from the stunning "Moonchild River Song" to the evocative and mysterious "Time Runs Like A Freight Train". The whole song cycle is wonderful, but the listener needs to be take the time to begin to appreciate it in its full complexity and subtle qualities. My personal favorites are "Lie With Me", one of the most lovely and unforgettable love songs I have yet heard, and also "Woman, She Was Gentle". I also like the final cut, "Soul of My Song" a haunting and evocative song about Andersen's ideas of a life well lived. One often hears albums described as a collection of songs, but this is truly a song cycle that has a special mood, atmosphere, and timbre of its own. This is a special album by a monumental talent who has never gotten the wide acclaim and popular recognition his unusually gifted abilities seem to deserve. Buy this CD and I guarantee you will soon find yourself referring to Andersen's "lost album" reverently, as most "folkies" do

"Stages" is not only for the most avid Eric Andersen fan, but for those not very acquantied with his work. The newer tracks, written in early 90's, are wonderful... very lyrical and reminescent of his work from "Blue River". The other tracks, recorded in the early 70's and incredibly were lost until located a few years ago, include the original production of "Time Run Like A Freight Train". Kudo's for Eric, whose music remains fresh and provided me with a CD a really treasure.

There's a reason for the enormous amount of stars for Eric Andersen's albums: each album reflects the passion, intelligence and integrity of this gifted artist. Stages: The Lost Album is a true masterpiece, and I would rank it with Blue River as the best representation of Eric's earlier work. It is a great starting place if you are unfamiliar with his work (it was the first album I heard of his, and got me hooked), as the two sets of tracks (early 70s and late 80s/early 90s) span a good section of his career. The story behind the album is riveting, too...the liner notes alone are almost worth the price. Any fan of folk or rock will connect intimately with the songs on this album.

I've been a devoted Eric Andersen fan since about 1969. I knew about the missing tapes for decades, and was really excited to learn they'd turned up. That said, "Stages" is really good, but as a follow-up to "Blue River" it's a bit of a let-down. Some of the songs were done better on "Be True to You" (though it's great to have "Time Run Like A Freight Train" without tympani, and "Can't Get You Out of My Life" as a country song instead of an imitation of "Court & Spark"). I like it a lot, but it doesn't rank with "Blue River," "Ghosts Upon the Road," or "More Hits From Tin Can Alley."

I had never heard Eric Andersen before; I bought this for the Patti Smith connection, but I was surprised and delighted at how good the whole CD was. Now I am interested in checking out more of his work and reading about his life and influences :)

Jo Segarra

I believe it is also worth noting that the last four tracks on the disc were recorded in 1990 with help from Rick Danko and Shawn Colvin, and are among the standout tracks on the album!