Eric Harrison Bittersweet
New Jersey rock ‘n roll songwriter Eric Harrison has a new album, Bittersweet, that was produced by Woodstock’s Kevin Salem (Dumptruck, Freedy Johnston) and is a collection of heartland style rock songs with close Byrdsy harmonies and invitations to reminiscence and cathartic release.
Setting the foundation for the album,”Laughing at the Guillotine” is a roots rock call to laugh in the face of mortality and the specter of death: “invitation to a friend, join my party at the end, those who love me can take the train, if, like me you’re laughing at the guillotine let’s just burn it down for all the world to see.”
“One Day” keeps up the roots rock pace with a heart-on-your-sleeve declaration of a will for a love to come true: “when it all wells up in me, you’re the face I need to see.” “Oblivion” sets a darker tone of intrigue and a pulsing rhythm with a hushed, tiny high note keyboard melody that beckons dreamlike from above. “Dominique 2” is a song of desire and an unrequited love with a memorable and winding electric guitar melody.
On “Sing What I Can’t Say” explores raw feelings of being an absent father in a song that probes some deep truths of love and voids and a need to support a family somehow. It’s touching and strikes a familiar chord.
“Bleecker Street” adds a rich layer of piano and harmony vocals to the mix. In “Sal’s Place” the guitar and vocal harmonies add an especial richness with a bit of cowbell. There’s a touch of “Jersey Boy” Springsteen-esque energy with a celebratory, hearty organ and electric guitar: “even the losers get lucky sometimes / I just want to break even and feel alive today.” Then “Diner” adds harmonica, a fiddle and is a springy, relatable vocal duet with Simi Stone: “this was my favorite place when I was young and able, how many years ago I will not say” and a backstage pass when the protagonist met the Stones one time.
Bittersweet explores themes of love and desire, mature love, parenthood, and a bit of nostalgia as in the end, we are all just simple humans trying to hold it all together. These confessions and observations are all provided over heartland rock arrangements with electric guitar, and significant keys and piano to buoy the spirits. Find more information here on his website: https://ericharrisonmusic.com/
Enjoy our previous coverage here: Video Premiere: Eric Harrison “Undertow”
Bittersweet was produced by Kevin Salem. Musicians on the album are Eric Harrison on guitar and vocals; Kevin Salem on drums, bass, guitars and keyboards on all tracks, plus backing vocals on “Sing What I Can’t Say”; Michael Arrom on piano on “Bleecker Street” and “When the Fever’s Broken”; Gordon Brown on guitar and backing vocals on “Sal’s Place”; Eve Harrison on backing vocals on “Oblivion,” “Dominique No. 2,” “Sing What I Can’t Say,” “Bleecker Street,” “Accidental Poetry,” and “Sal’s Place”; Jane Harrison on backing vocals on “Sal’s Place”; Chris Murphy on fiddle on “Diner”; and Simi Stone on duet vocals on “Diner.”