At Long Last, Eric Erickson, points out on his website, technically is not his debut album. "Some time ago, I recorded an album but I accidentally
taped an installment of Car Talk over it." D'OH!
Erickson says he isn't compelled to be a musical groundbreaker. Rather, he enjoys tilling the rich terrain of his musical influences, drawing from
Peter, Paul & Mary, Joan Baez, The Beatles, James Taylor, and prolific, Golden-era classic-pop songwriters Irving Berlin and Rodgers and Hart. "I hope
each of my songs has the feel of a new pair of shoes that are comfortable from the first moment you put them on," he says. "You've worn the style
before but never in quite this color."
Erickson's traditionalist sensibilities fit right in among the Woodstock, New York community where he lives. With his immaculate James Taylor-esque
tenor at the heart of the album, Erickson produced and engineered At Long Last himself in his home studio - in his bedroom - the ultimate "relaxed"
setting for recording. He invited a few neighbors over to sit in - like guitarist and Taylor clinician Artie Traum, former Lovin' Spoonful principal
and Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame inductee John Sebastian, legendary fiddler and exponent of Americana Jay Ungar, along with upright acoustic bassist
Dick Kniss (Peter, Paul & Mary, John Denver). The resulting album has a timeless, "homecooked" feel that rings with confessional intimacy, especially
Erickson's wistful vocals tenderly contemplate the effects of stolen, unrequited, and deeply felt love. On the bluesy "My Broken Heart," Traum's lead
guitar and Sebastian's harmonica flank Erickson with porch-stomping grit. Erickson also coaxes tasteful accents from Abby Newton on cello and Karen
Levine on percussion.
Another outlet for Erickson's pristine tenor has been the a capella vocal ensemble Woodstock Renaissance, with whom he has performed music from the
Renaissance and Middle Ages. "Late Tonight"'s multi-tracked vocal shows off Erickson's smooth knack for crystalline vocal harmonies in the more contemporary Doo-Wop style.
Erickson's love of folk music found a home on the air with WDST-FM in Woodstock, where he attracted listeners to the many flavors of American Roots
music as a co-host of the long-running Jus' Folks program. As a performer, he's shared the floorboards with Pete Seeger, Livingston Taylor, Suzanne
Vega, John Hall, Artie and Happy Traum, Adrian Legg, and Rick Danko (The Band), among others.
