MusicStew.com Review
by Chris Wilmoth
"Songs for the Time Being"
Songs for the Time Being, the debut album from singer-songwriter Eric Folkerth, is an exciting combination of freshness, brilliant imagery, catchy melodies and wisdom. The songs range from the poignant to the joyful, the serious to the silly but never lose the wonder and enthusiasm of a first kiss.
It might seem odd that a debut album begins with a goodbye song, but Sequoyah is the perfect introduction to a collection of songs full of vivid images and pithy insights. Sequoyah finds in the autumnal Ozarks foliage a lesson about the beauty of the changes constantly confronting us and the comfort to be found in embracing the people who bring meaning to our lives.
This album is flush with natural images: the birches of Moscow, the east Texas pines, Barton Springs, blue-grey horizons outside Austin, the sun breaking through the clouds. It’s also filled with paths, the quest for purpose and peace of mind. If Folkerth has found any truth within these images, it’s the beauty of the unanswered question.
“Eric’s songs tell stories the way a good movie does,” says another Texas songwriter Bob Ackerman. Take, for example, Mom Went Bungie Jumping, which tells of a woman who finds herself on her own for the first time “with no one she needs to protect.” Central to this song is the image of the free fall coupled with the hope that the cord will ultimately keep her from hurting herself, the notion that “faith is such a thin and fragile cord.” The selected snapshots of her life reflect the sense of compassion that pervades this album.
These Rooms is both a love song to Folkerth’s little girl and an expression of wonder at the fathomless human capacity for discovering new love. The award-winning I Will Sing is the kind of song you find yourself immediately replaying so you can learn the words and sing along. The Birches of Moscow, Folkerth’s epic coup de grace, tells the story of how the myths a baby boomer grew up on melted happily into the peace of friendship and understanding. And My Brontosaurus Threw a Potluck will make you chuckle, raise your eyebrows and wonder, What was that all about?
The richness of the studio version of these songs is also a tribute to the genius of producer Clark Findley. Still, a few good listens and you can guess what Folkerth might have in his personal CD collection. You hear traces of the alternate tunings and terse imagery of David Wilcox, the narrative skill of John Gorka, Darden Smith, and Shawn Colvin, the quirkiness of Christine Lavin and Trout Fishing in America, and the vocal virtuosity of Billy Joel, Willie Nelson, and (according to my mother-in-law) Frank Sinatra. But Songs for the Time Being is no mere paean to the artists Folkerth admires. It is infused with a unique perspective and infectious melodies that will keep it in the CD changer for weeks at a time.
Chris Wilmoth is a former adjunct writing instructor at Southern Methodist University, Texas Christian University and Brookhaven College. He has presented papers to the Modern Language Association and the Southeastern Medieval Association. Formerly Communications Director for an international petroleum consulting firm, he is now a student at SMU School of Law.