The album “Tears Don’t Cry” can be considered rare blue-chip stock in the EDM scene. It is a soul-searching, expressive, genre-bending effort that focuses on Eric Redd’s killer soul vocals, and personal stories, to craft a bunch of catchy and stupendous storytelling, house music gems, produced by Carrillo Records boss, Rod Carrillo. In fact we should say, thank you to Eric and Rod for recording this album. Together, they construct songs with deep meanings, as they build sonic detours and alternative rhythmic routes with different aural conclusions that all lead to the same place – the power of electronic music today. They go beyond the four-to-the-floor beats, and enter the realm of emotional autobiographical narratives with deeply afflicting tendrils.
“Tears Don’t Cry” documents a period of extreme upheaval and loss in the singer’s life: a divorce, the passing of loved ones (including his mother and his beloved dog), and the appearance of irreparable cracks in the foundations of his support systems.
It also represents shock, grief, and change as redemptive and emboldening. However, it also brings gratitude, a new willingness to love, and a transformed sense of Eric Redd’s art and its possibilities. You normally would not expect that much substance in a dance record, but this is Eric Redd.
An Inglewood, California-born artist Eric Redd began his career as a featured teenage dancer on Soul Train, where he enjoyed ongoing advocacy and guidance from its host and producer, Don Cornelius. Redd’s winding journey in the entertainment world included several years in the European casts of Cats and Starlight Express.
Switching his focus from dancing to music in the ‘90s plunged Redd into the burgeoning electronic genres, but via his stint as lead vocalist in California Transit Authority, a rock band founded by original Chicago drummer Danny Seraphine.
This artistic pedigree and legacy, anchors the album’s undeniable melodic hooks, killer beats, and fat rhythms with Eric Redd’s swooping, resonant and soul-searching voice holding center stage. The opening title track “Tears Don’t Cry” burrows deep into your brain and refuses to let go, just as the pop flavors of “Green Eyes” seems perfectly logical amid the musical creativity on display.
“Its Your Thing – Knox Saxy Remix” brings yet another upbeat musical slant which defies easy categorization. “Soul Speaks” is a vocal tour de force, which leads to the high-energy drift of “I Don’t Need Your Love”. “Don’t Look Any Further” ft. Michael Franks & Anise White is a racy and more expansive version of the Dennis Edwards original.
“Ready For Love” is driven by the rumbling basslines, rattling percussion and sweeping strings. What really is impressive is Eric Redd’s ability to not only write relatable lyrics, but the words he chooses to accentuate and how neatly he twists the melodies based on the rhythms he is navigating. The album closes appropriately with the “Tears Don’t Cry Remix”. The arrangements on this album are intricate and intended to push the boundaries.
All throughout “Tears Don’t Cry”, Rod Carrillo’s inventive beats and uncanny ear meshes well with Eric Redd’s soul stylings, creating a 21st century-ready electronic fusion with classic singer-songwriter nostalgia, and tinges of Motown soul. It certainly bears the hallmarks of future greatness. So far as innovative EDM goes in 2022, this may well be the pinnacle!
OFFICIAL LINKS:
WEBSITE – https://www.dancemusiclabel.com
INSTAGRAM – @ericredd
