By
Rob Jones
Wreckless Eric is the ultimate rock raconteur! Since his 1977 arrival as one of the original Stiff Records brethren this cult king has adroitly reported upon the detail, despair, disappointments and delights of everyday life (whether in the guise of a performer or punter). These observations make for some sumptuous stories littered with witty, wise and wistful wordplay.
His new amERICa album on Fire Records has a sonic survivor once again offering everything plus the kitchen sink-and, as a result the gripping drama and infectious grooves haul an attentive audience in to its wondrous web.
Eric delves in to areas such as regret, desperation, self-advancement, civil liberties, and U.S. citizenship as he also assesses pop fame (lost and resurrected) plus fast food monopolies. The personal prose also never pulls punches and the musical mattress on which the lyrics lie has the great man taking on most of the playing challenges. From the confines of a ramshackle house (come studio) in upstate New York this English eccentric confirms his creative consistency.
The lustrous lo-fi and power-pop present only further enhances the all round ability of an act that should be on a pedestal not the peripheries. Here is a singer/songwriter like no other-and, the Transitory Thing cut has every right to be one of the tunes of 2015 (or any year for that matter!).
The line ‘They say that travel broadens the mind well I must be the stay at home kind’ has to be a tongue in cheek missive directed at others-because our anti-hero has carried ‘a case full of dirty clothes halfway around the world’. To add to which the trials and tribulations of these trips unleash a tome of tales absorbed via a bond with the Whole Wide World around him. As Days of my Life explains: ‘Grey days, sunny days, days when it rained all day. Blue days, sad days, wasted half-forgotten days. These are the days of my life. I’m building a collection here, stacking up a lifetime’s worth’. There is no corner cutting, this is the full file!
Eric can be both critical and celebratory but his work is nothing short of consuming. This voice of experience does not come across as a John Lydon ‘do it as I say’ bellow but this mantra provides the highs and sometimes more familiar lows of a guy that has been attempting to get around the block.
It is not always the case that talent is rewarded and Wreckless Eric is a prime example of that predicament. The man born Eric Goulden deserves more acclaim, but to date his endeavour has not equated to global gold! However, although he admits to having faced a number of setbacks there is also positivity exemplified via the quote ‘I survived. I’m lucky. I have a great Life’.
