Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
We have a duty to challenge not only others and their viewpoints, but to confront our own perceptions of what we can and cannot do. We should do this regularly, take stock and then if we find we didn’t succeed, then we must front up and dispute the findings and try again, no matter how many times it takes to contest the apparent failing or self-opinion, we must prevail, we must challenge ourselves to be a greater version of what we accept.
It is a challenge few of us are willing to contend, and yet we cheer loudly and with a sense of boisterous optimism when somebody else takes the risk, when they open their minds to change; if only we could all be like them, if only we had the steel and joyful heart that is conjured up readily in an artist such as Eric Gales.
The Bookends is perhaps an apt title for Mr. Gales’ latest musical venture, the holding together of a life that has meaning, importance, that is bound by the forces of strength and gravity and which draws attention to the subjects caught inside and framed by the words that are dear.
It is a testament to the performer’s agility and outstanding hard work that songs such as Something’s Gotta Give, How Do I Get You, the excellent Southpaw Serenade, the fantastically stimulating cover with Beth Hart of The Beatles’ track, With A Little Help From My Friends, and Somebody Lied,
With guest appearances from Doyle Bramhall II, B. Slade and the aforementioned Ms. Hart, Eric Gales meets the challenge he has set himself with absolute flying colours, the songs registering a different tack, a mind-set that wants to push the boundaries of his life even further and see where this new experience takes him. It is adventure, a train of self-disciplined thought that should and must be congratulated and will be seen as inspiring to those who don’t see the way in accepting that your song deserves your own voice.
Change, adaption and overcoming fears or negativity are what separates the good and the outstanding; Eric Gales has always been prominent in expanding his talent, now he has enlarged his horizons to an even greater width of enjoyment.
Eric Gales releases The Bookends via Provogue/Mascot Label on February 8th.
Ian D. Hall