It’s always been something of a mystery that folk singer-songwriter Eric Andersen never achieved the mainstream recognition that many of his peers enjoyed. The original “next Dylan,” Andersen was at times taken to task for chasing musical fads (when Dylan went electric, so did he; he also employed ill-fitting Sgt. Pepper-style orchestration on his late ’60s albums), but his best work zigzags brilliantly between melancholy romance and dark, brooding intensity.
The two-disc Beat Avenue keeps to that same path, with mostly excellent results. Kicking off with the pulsating, electric-guitar-driven “Ain’t No Time To Bleed”, Andersen signals right away that we’re in for a big dose of the muscular, brawny side of his songwriting. Songs such as “Before Everything Changed” and “Song Of You And Me” bring to mind Fred Eaglesmith at his most densely rocking; likewise, “Rains Are Gonna Come” slams home its apocalyptic imagery in a wash of heavy percussion and stormy riffage. A smattering of ballads, most notably the fiddle-driven “Shape Of A Broken Heart” and the Celtic-tinged “Still Looking For You”, offer refuge from the carnage.
The second disc is a beast of an altogether different nature. A single, 26-minute track centered on a personalized account of the day John Kennedy died, it showcases Andersen’s deep lyrical debt to the Beat writers. Ironically, Andersen found himself commiserating with Ginsberg, Cassady, Ferlinghetti and other Beats on the night of that fateful event. It’s all laid out here against the backdrop of a smoky, atmospheric jazz vamp, sung-spoken by Andersen in his huskiest baritone.