Several months back, I received a gift via snail mail from a reader/One Man Band. He calls himself "Eric". Appropriate, because his name just happens to be... Eric.

The attractively designed, but unassuming, hand-burned CD is simply titled "Ericsongs". Eric's songs are written by Eric, vocalized by Eric, and expertly backed up by an acoustic guitar. Yes... played by Eric!

Simple, Unassuming-- Not. This guy plays heartstrings like a virtuoso Suzuki violinist. From the very first track, his lyrics seized and his voice beguiled. His words are Dylan-esque in their poetic profundity. His vocal chords are *sigh of relief* anything but Dylan-esque, however. His free and easy, folksy style is more than kind to the ears and psyche. He sings like full bodied wine, with remarkable range. If I were to compare him to a song spinner I adore, I'd choose Jesse Colin Young.

Eric is an avid Shawn Phillips fan, and the influence shows... but doesn't shadow. "Enchanted Flight" is a fine example. My favorite among the selections is "Happy Day Ladies", which possesses a charm and poignancy that stay with me long after a listen. "Their Silent Word" should be approached with caution. Its powerful and chafing anti-war focus forces one to look ugly Truths squarely in their bloodshot eyes. This cut is aptly illustrated with a slideshow viewable on Eric's website.

This brings us to a vital revelation about Eric's work: He's not trying to sell you a CD! His music and art are available free for all by visiting his site.

Personally, I think Eric should be famous. His messages should be heard. Profit and notoriety are definitely not motivating factors for him though. Here, his own words explain the slightly compromised sound quality of his audiofiles, which manifest in the form of a scarcely noticable background hiss:

"These songs were recorded on reel to reel tape some 20 years ago.... transported from east coast to west ........ and back again. and covered with dust and cat hair for most of those 20 years. My son found an old reel to reel tape recorder at the salvation army store ..... and they finally saw the light of day again. I used free software from the internet to play them into "wav" files on the computer...........other free software to convert them to "mp3" files, that can be played from my webpage...........and other free software to convert them to "realaudio" files for those with realplayer. Once I got the CD writer, one more conversion to "cda" files for cd-players..... jeez ....... I have never explained it before. Kinda sounds like work! ..... but, it was a labor of love!"

Eric succeeds, shining through the many conversions. Do not pass up a chance to experience the results for yourself. It boggles the mind to imagine what this fella' could produce in a professional studio under the best of conditions.

But what he has produced is sufficiently exquisite...