Wreckless Eric (Singer-Songwriter, Indie, UK)

Wreckless Eric needs no introduction he wrote and recorded the classic Whole Wide World and scored a hit with it in 1977. Since then, the song has become a hit for numerous other artists, including The Monkees, Cage The Elephant and Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day. Eric's version was used for the Expedia/Superbowl commercial with Ewan MacGregor, and Cage The Elephant's version is the title theme of the Smartless podcast.

With Eric Goulden, things are a bit more complicated the musician, artist, writer, engineer and producer had little use for the music business, fame or the name he was given to hide behind. So he slipped out of the limelight and disappeared into the underground. Within more than forty years he released over twenty albums under various names The Len Bright Combo, Le Beat Group Electrique, The Donovan Of Trash, The Hitsville House Band and, together with his wife, Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby. In the end, however, he realized that he would not get rid of the name Wreckless Eric.

His three most recent albums, amERICa, Construction Time & Demolition and Transience are widely considered his best. They encompass pop, bubblegum, garage trash and psychedelia. They are lyrical and sonic journeys, pop explosions, epic trips and Polaroid snapshots.

With his new album Leisureland, he returns to more fragile recording territory. Featured are guitars and spirited, unpredictable analog keyboards, as well as beatboxes and loops in conjunction with a real drummer, Sam Shepard, whom he met in a coffee shop in Catskill, New York. To Eric's happy surprise, Sam lived just around the corner and could drop in quickly when drums were needed for new recordings. The recording process may have been contemporary American, but the album's theme is almost entirely British. In addition, the long player contains more instrumental pieces than any of his works before.

The achievement for Wreckless Eric is to have made new music that connects to old music without maudlin nostalgia or huffy defensiveness, refusing to let age dim the passion for the music that means the most to him. In other words, he rocks . - Ken Tucker - FRESH AIR / NPR

burns like a lost Crazy Horse classic - Ben Graham - SHINDIG!

a scarily powerful and forward-moving musical threat - David Quantick MOJO MAGAZINE

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