Search - Rick Danko, Jonas Fjeld, Eric Andersen :: Ridin on the Blinds

A great album

01/02/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Band was greater than the sum of it's parts, though all of those "parts" consisted of phenomenal musicians. Rick Danko was one of them and his solo and other-team projects were some of the best done by a Band alumnus. This album is one of a couple Danko did with Eric Anderson, a fine and criminally underheard singer/songwriter, and Jonas Fjeld, who is well known in his native Norway but not a readily familiar name to many outside of that country. RIDIN' ON THE BLINDS has the kind of homespun charm that made The Band's albums shine, but it also has many moments of quiet power. Anderson is probably the strongest presence here, doing a beautiful rendition of Richard Thompson's "Dimming Of The Day" and leading the three voices to soar on his own "Come Runnin' Like A Friend." Fjeld is a terrific guitarist and his vocal on "Women 'Cross The River" is a beaut. (He and Anderson sound very similar). But the high point as far as I'm concerned is Danko's stripped down version of former Band-mate "Robbie" Robertson's "Twilight," a song one doesn't hear much. Danko's vocal sounds off the cuff, but that's part of it's charm, and when the three of them sing the chorus, it bowls you over. In light of Danko's recent passing, the words, "Don't leave me alone in the twilight/ 'Cause twilight is the loneliest time of day" have an especially sad ring to them.This album is a wonder."

A unique gem of an album.

Jonathan Lyness | New York, NY United States | 02/01/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a huge Rick Danko fan, so it would be tempting to give ANY album he lent his vocals to a 5-star review. But this album is truly unique and deserving of praise. The unusual, exotic Norwegian instrumentation used throughout the album makes this a more special collaborative effort than your average folk-rock album...as do those wonderful harmonies. The previous reviewer is right on the money in singling out Rick Danko on "Twilight" and Andersen on "Dimming of the Day" (though I have no shortage of favorites on this album). As an aside, Kirsten Berg, a Norwegian singer, does a duet with Eric Andersen on "Dimming", and I spent over 3 years searching for an album by her, so taken was I with her voice on this track. This was also the album that introduced me to Andersen, and hooked me on his haunting voice and the insightful songwriting in his work. I could rant on but you probably get the idea... :) Beautiful stuff."