About this item

EDITORIAL REVIEWS "This is not a tribute album. Its me - Carolina-raised, Nashville-residing, Grammy-losing Peter Cooper - singing the songs of Eric Taylor, a man whose notions of rhyme, melody, meter, and story shaped and changed the way I think and feel about music. Im not singing these songs in tribute. Im singing them because they are the songs I most wanted to sing. Some people, even some people in my troubadour tribe, havent heard them before. I hope those people dont read these notes. I hope they download this thing, or hear it on some streaming service, and assume that I wrote them. My hopes wont be realized, though. Nobody is going to think I wrote these songs. Hell, no one will think Kristofferson or Tom T. Hall or Chuck Berry or Billy Joe Shaver or Patty Griffin or John Prine or Todd Snider wrote them. Eric Taylor songs arent in competition with anyone elses. They are singular, not similar. They exist in their own world. Please listen. Eric Taylor isnt in show business. He makes music. And that music has been heard, loved, and recorded by Lyle, by Nanci Griffith, by Joan Baez, and by other greats. That speaks to his brilliance. Thomm Jutz, who co-produced this album and played the guitar parts, will back me up. Andrea Zonn, the singer-songwriter and member of James Taylors band, played stunningly emotional violin and viola. Then there was Pat McInerney, Justin Moses, Mark Fain, Lynn Williams, Lindsay Hayes, and Eric Brace. These are standouts. Stalwarts. Heavy players and singers, suited for these heaviest of songs. This is rare and wondrous stuff, through no fault of my own. Youre welcome to it. Please listen". - Peter Cooper REVIEW 4½ stars (out of 5) By Donald Teplyske To some, Eric Taylor has been a Texas songwriting icon since the seventies. A contemporary of Ray Wylie Hubbard, admired by Guy Clark, and hero to Lyle Lovett, Taylor s sparse catalogue of recordings are cherished, coveted by those few who have encountered them. Peter Cooper has long been an admirer of Eric Taylor. He wrote a stark, insightful piece about Taylor in No Depression back in 2001, and wrote a song about him for MASTER SESSIONS, the album he and Eric Brace did with Lloyd Green and Mike Auldridge. For his latest recording, Cooper has elected to present a dozen of Taylor s songs. Given that Cooper is an amazing songwriter in his own right, this decision carries with it considerable weight: these are amongst the songs that gave Cooper direction, in his words, songs that shaped and changed the way I think and feel about music. Like Taylor, Cooper has a bit of a cult following. Cooper turns the guitar over to co-producer Thomm Jutz, and his contributions offer ideal framing to Cooper s vocal artistry; the bluesy effects of Carnival Jim & Jean have stayed with me through numerous listenings. Cooper has an ideal voice for these songs. He doesn t sound like Taylor, of course, and neither should he. Through a slate of recordings, Cooper has developed a voice and approach to Americana all his own. Vocally, Cooper might always remind us a little of Rodney Crowell, but he is equally individual. Smoother, perhaps. Cooper appreciates Taylors gift for language. Words in the hands of Taylor are never contrived as he constructs a lyric to tell a story. Interestingly, when Eric Taylor has chosen to cover songs by other writers, it has usually been Townes Van Zandt. When Peter Cooper chooses to cover others, it has as often as anyone been Eric Taylor. Well, Taylor and Tom T. Hall, which taken together pretty much gives you Townes Van Zandt. There is no little measure of pensiveness here, the pain and passion of the common (and decidedly uncommon) wanders of life, a combination of grit and honesty that should see us through many an evening. Not every situation depicted will endear listeners to the characters they are as flawed as reality, as blessedly unaware as the rest of us. But you will remember them: the panhandler ( Dollar Bill Hines ) , the lonesome carny hustler and his (perhaps) wiser partner ( Carnival Jim & Jean ) , the desperado whose train never came ( Charlie Ray McWhite ) , the convict who sees himself as Johnny Cash ( Prison Movie ) , and the hopelessly lost romantic ( Two Fires ) . Deadwood, recorded once by Nanci Griffith many a blue moon ago is likely this set s most familiar song. Less mysterious than when heard almost thirty years ago, it is no less stunning a set of observations. These are really great performances of memorable songs, most of which lots of folks haven t heard. Justin Moses (formerly of Kentucky Thunder) colors More Storms with mandolin trills that add dimension to an already incredible song. Depot Light is powerful, even if I get lost in its tale. The Great Divide, which may have been modeled off Stuff That Works, is just as clever if darker. DEPOT LIGHT: SONGS OF ERIC TAYLOR will appeal to Eric Taylor devotees whether they know Peter Cooper or not. Not surprisingly, it will be welcomed by fans of Peter Cooper who may never have encountered Eric Taylor. --The Lonesome Road Review