Eric Hutchinson - "Rock and Roll"

A lot of acoustic singer songwriters lose their edge and sound when they perform outside of the studio. It's simply what happens when a record is overproduced with bells and whistles and vocal filters, sometimes drowning out the actual tone of the singers voice.

This guy is different. Eric Hutchinson performing live is the same Eric Hutchinson in the studio. The vocals are DEAD on regardless of the venue. Below is a version of Eric singing his hit "Rock and Roll" off of his first record, "That Could've Gone Better" which was released in '03, and then re-released in 2008 when he started getting more press. This version is great because there are no bells and whistles. There isn't even a microphone. Eric is singing in a conference room of a radio station in Spokane. How awesome is that?

The vocals are identical to the record version. The guy rocks. Simple as that. He's got a cool soul feel mixed with a rhythmic, almost hip hop like delivery which is really cool to hear. It's like Jason Mraz had a baby with John Mayer, but the baby had a better sense of humor.

Shout out to Emerson College up here in Boston, which Eric went to. Great school and also produced one of the greater keyboard players who still jams, Page McConnell from Phish.

Cheers,

Bee Gees - "To Love Somebody"

Having a retrospective Thursday, so here we go. "To Love Somebody." An absolutely beautiful song written and sung by the incomparable Bee Gees, covered by two of my idols, Ray LaMontagne and Damien Rice.

What an amazing tune and what a powerful performance.

Cheers,