Eric Sardinas Black Pearls CD

Eric Sardinas is a good, even great, electric slide player, and his Dobro skills are equally as impressive. His band on Black Pearls, Paul Loranger on bass and Mike Dupke on drums, is also quite good. The songs, all written by Sardinas, sound good and rock hard, although you've heard all this said before. (Granted, blues feeds on recycled lyrics, and it is undoubtedly hard to find a new way to say "I've been down so long I'm gonna leave you.") The highlights here -- the cheerful pop-blues of "Big Red Line," the bluegrass-paced Dobro work on "Old Smyrm Road" -- come on songs that step a little bit outside the blues-boogie template. ~ Steve Leggett

Eric Sardinas is a good, even great, electric slide player, and his Dobro skills are equally as impressive. His band on Black Pearls, Paul Loranger on bass and Mike Dupke on drums, is also quite good. The problem here is the material. The songs, all written by Sardinas, are at the worst end of blues cliché. They sound good and rock hard, but in the end, you've heard all this said before, and probably better. Granted, blues feeds on recycled lyrics, and it is undoubtedly hard to find a new way to say "I've been down so long I'm gonna leave you," but it can be done (Otis Taylor comes immediately to mind). The highlights here -- the cheerful pop-blues of "Big Red Line," the bluegrass-paced Dobro work on "Old Smyrm Road" -- come on songs that step a little bit outside the blues-boogie template. ~ Steve Leggett

Asian version featuring a bonus track: "Green Tea". Also includes a hidden, untitled track.

Recorded at the Mothership, Los Angeles, California.

Personnel: Eric Sardinas (vocals, guitar); Paul Loranger (bass); Mike Dupke (drums); Chris Frazier.

Personnel: Eric Sardinas (vocals, guitar); Mike Duple (drums); Keith Johnson (programming).

Audio Mixers: Eddie Kramer; Mauricio Cajueiro.

Recording information: Mothership, Los Angelas, CA.

Photographer: Neil Zlozower.

This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.