Andersen, Eric
Bout Changes N Things, Take 2
Rare & Collectible Vinyl Records

1967 US stereo original on Vanguard Stereolab label with original Vanguard die-cut company inner. Harvey Brooks contributes bass. "This unusual disc consisted of the exact same songs that Eric Andersen had released on his previous album, the almost identically titled 'Bout Changes and Things, in 1966. The difference was that now the songs were given fuller folk-rock band arrangements (and also presented in a different order). Commercially, this was a hard proposition to pull off; essentially it was giving listeners the option of repurchasing an entire album that they might have already had if they were hip to Andersen. Probably the thinking was that the more modern band backup would expand his pop/rock audience by reaching people who'd never heard Andersen before, but in the end he remained about as much of a cult figure as he was before the plan was hatched. The folk-rock backing grafted onto the songs was mild and tentative, and did not fully develop the material as much as it could or should have. For that reason, most Andersen fans prefer the original, acoustic folk version of Bout Changes and Things. Which isn't to say that Bout Changes and Things Take 2 is bad; if these were the only versions of the tunes in circulation, they'd still hold up for the most part. The early Andersen favorites "Violets of Dawn," "Close the Door Lightly," and "Thirsty Boots" are all here, and sometimes the production has a decent early New York Dylanesque folk-rock vibe, as on "The Hustler" and "The Girl I Love"." AMG - Richie Unterberger.