Bitrate:320K/s
Year:2026
Time:47:34
Size:109,7 MB
Label:Alternator Records / Niche Records
Styles:Blues/Blues Rock
Art:Front
Year:2026
Time:47:34
Size:109,7 MB
Label:Alternator Records / Niche Records
Styles:Blues/Blues Rock
Art:Front
Tracks Listing:
1. I Don't Belong With You - 4:54
2. Setting Sun - 3:58
3. A Man Ain't A Man Until His Father Dies - 3:30
4. Unexpected Connections - 4:00
5. Hard Being Here - 3:44
6. Thorns & Roses - 3:50
7. Count On You - 4:44
8. Your Birthday - 3:21
9. Lies & Truth - 3:38
10. Dig Down Deep - 3:50
11. Light Danced Through Your Window - 4:51
12. When Nature Speaks - 3:09
1. I Don't Belong With You - 4:54
2. Setting Sun - 3:58
3. A Man Ain't A Man Until His Father Dies - 3:30
4. Unexpected Connections - 4:00
5. Hard Being Here - 3:44
6. Thorns & Roses - 3:50
7. Count On You - 4:44
8. Your Birthday - 3:21
9. Lies & Truth - 3:38
10. Dig Down Deep - 3:50
11. Light Danced Through Your Window - 4:51
12. When Nature Speaks - 3:09
The cover photo for soulful, bluesy singer/songwriter Eric Jerardi’s tenth album is a bit misleading. ‘The Game,’ released Oct 30, Alternator/Niche Record label, has nothing to do with Chess or any other recreational board activity played against others.
Rather, it references the concept that inspired this often riveting dozen song collection.
Jerardi was challenged to write 12 songs in three months, one per week. The “game” was further complicated by a rule requiring him to use a prompt or a phrase verbatim within the lyrics, sent by a longtime friend. Financial penalties were levied for late submissions.
Although this seems inherently non-organic (what happens if his muse isn’t in sync?), the results are impressive. The maxims sent were often outside Jerardi’s comfort zone (they are specified on his web page) and, by his own admission, not anything he would have thought of. That added to the experiment’s complexity.
Jerardi keeps the resulting songs’ sound lean but not skeletal. Only three musicians are credited;behind the frontman are Michael James and Eric Colvin, who also co-produced, and three backing vocalists. The melodies sound tight, structured around generally meditative but far from brooding material combining rock, pop and blues into a generally darker stew. Colvin also composes for films, bringing a cinematic touch.
Mix some Joe Cocker with Curtis Salgado, add Robert Cray and John Hiatt and you’ve got an approximation of Jerardi’s soulful style. Although generally known as a blues guitarist, those talents defer to reflective pieces that carve out a bluesy/soulful streak, with his six-string talents adding short but significant spice.
Early singles such as “Setting Sun,” juxtapose losing close friends to cancer (“All of them are dead/Ain’t no end in sight/All this weight feels like a metric ton”) with an appreciation that he’s alive and well. A short, taut guitar solo leads into “Looks like I’m drinking my dinner tonight,” closing with a pleading “Please don’t let me be the last one.”
His blues side is best exposed on “Dig Down Deep,” a gritty, soul-soaked selection featuring the backing singers as Jerardi sings “You’ve got to sow, you’ve got to reap/Don’t forget you’ve got to dig down deep” as he lays into a meaty guitar solo worthy of Warren Haynes.
His vocals are most striking on lyrically weighty songs such as “Light Danced Through Your Window.” The searing ballad, one of many from this set, describes waiting for a romantic partner as he peers into her bedroom window. On “Unexpected Connections,” Jerardi brings Southside Johnny-influenced honesty to another mid-tempo ballad that looks to a brighter future singing “Free your mind, it’s all in front of you.” The supporting vocals inject an eerie gospel tint to one of this disc’s finest performances.
He takes a page from older Tom Waits (in his beatnik period) for the walking bass led “Thorns and Roses” that feels like a stroll down a rain-soaked street late at night. Jerardi plays a jazzy lead before the vocalists sing “The wind blows through my soul…I need to find a better way…”
The closing “Nature Speaks” ends the album on a more musically upbeat vibe, as he rocks a bit harder.
These tracks glow with a melancholy, atmospheric ambiance. ‘The Game’ focuses on Eric Jerardi’s earthy yet malleable voice and songs begging to be played again to better understand their conceptual approaches.
Considering the limitations and structural demands, this “game” brings out a different side of Eric Jerardi; one pushing his sound towards a more ominous, artsy direction, while maintaining a connection to his blues roots.
Rather, it references the concept that inspired this often riveting dozen song collection.
Jerardi was challenged to write 12 songs in three months, one per week. The “game” was further complicated by a rule requiring him to use a prompt or a phrase verbatim within the lyrics, sent by a longtime friend. Financial penalties were levied for late submissions.
Although this seems inherently non-organic (what happens if his muse isn’t in sync?), the results are impressive. The maxims sent were often outside Jerardi’s comfort zone (they are specified on his web page) and, by his own admission, not anything he would have thought of. That added to the experiment’s complexity.
Jerardi keeps the resulting songs’ sound lean but not skeletal. Only three musicians are credited;behind the frontman are Michael James and Eric Colvin, who also co-produced, and three backing vocalists. The melodies sound tight, structured around generally meditative but far from brooding material combining rock, pop and blues into a generally darker stew. Colvin also composes for films, bringing a cinematic touch.
Mix some Joe Cocker with Curtis Salgado, add Robert Cray and John Hiatt and you’ve got an approximation of Jerardi’s soulful style. Although generally known as a blues guitarist, those talents defer to reflective pieces that carve out a bluesy/soulful streak, with his six-string talents adding short but significant spice.
Early singles such as “Setting Sun,” juxtapose losing close friends to cancer (“All of them are dead/Ain’t no end in sight/All this weight feels like a metric ton”) with an appreciation that he’s alive and well. A short, taut guitar solo leads into “Looks like I’m drinking my dinner tonight,” closing with a pleading “Please don’t let me be the last one.”
His blues side is best exposed on “Dig Down Deep,” a gritty, soul-soaked selection featuring the backing singers as Jerardi sings “You’ve got to sow, you’ve got to reap/Don’t forget you’ve got to dig down deep” as he lays into a meaty guitar solo worthy of Warren Haynes.
His vocals are most striking on lyrically weighty songs such as “Light Danced Through Your Window.” The searing ballad, one of many from this set, describes waiting for a romantic partner as he peers into her bedroom window. On “Unexpected Connections,” Jerardi brings Southside Johnny-influenced honesty to another mid-tempo ballad that looks to a brighter future singing “Free your mind, it’s all in front of you.” The supporting vocals inject an eerie gospel tint to one of this disc’s finest performances.
He takes a page from older Tom Waits (in his beatnik period) for the walking bass led “Thorns and Roses” that feels like a stroll down a rain-soaked street late at night. Jerardi plays a jazzy lead before the vocalists sing “The wind blows through my soul…I need to find a better way…”
The closing “Nature Speaks” ends the album on a more musically upbeat vibe, as he rocks a bit harder.
These tracks glow with a melancholy, atmospheric ambiance. ‘The Game’ focuses on Eric Jerardi’s earthy yet malleable voice and songs begging to be played again to better understand their conceptual approaches.
Considering the limitations and structural demands, this “game” brings out a different side of Eric Jerardi; one pushing his sound towards a more ominous, artsy direction, while maintaining a connection to his blues roots.
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