Click Above To Order This AlbumSecond Hand Smoke
Eric Hirschberg
Label: Beautiful Corner Music
Release Date: September 13, 2024
Review Date: October 2024
It’s no secret that my keen interests are both business and music. Absorbing stories and data about either are second nature to me. So, when I read the bio of Eric Hirschberg while listening to his latest album, “Second Hand Smoke,” I was blown away as much by his resume as I was by what I was with what was coming out of my speakers.
Music journalist Chris Dalla Riva says it beautifully: ““Eric Hirshberg makes for one interesting Google search. Search his name and first, you’ll see all his songs and music videos. Then you’ll see an Eric Hirshberg who was the CEO of video game giant Activision. Then you’ll see an Eric Hirshberg who built the award-winning advertising agency, Deutsch LA. Shockingly, all these Eric Hirshberg’s are the same person.”
If you’re like me, you’re just learning of Hirshberg from a musical perspective, but his music has been streamed over three million times across all the various streaming platforms. With “Second Hand Smoke” those numbers will undoubtedly grow exponentially.
The album has everything you will want in a great album. A rough smoothness. An earthiness. Lyrics with thought-provoking depth. A classic sound with a new freshness.
This is the kind of music that I love to work to; to drive to; to just sit and think to. In other words, my kind of music. Case in point: The song, “Unbroken.” Wow. Just freakin’ wow. Raw (and I do mean “raw” in every sense of the word), transparent, and vulnerable. And I’m just talking about the lyrics. Musically, it’s perfect. Not overwritten or over played. A perfect match to what seems to this outsider as being perfectly matched to what the writer’s heart was feeling at the time.
The album closes with another biggie, "Goodnight Noboy." Written by Eric's brother, Glen, who is an accomplished author, the title of the song refers to a page in the children's book "Goodnight, Moon" and is a great, ethereal close to an amazing, thought-provoking album. In my mind, I envision a parent laying in bed with their child, saying a lengthy goodnight because the child is stalling going to sleep. Yet, in all of those words rest the things that weigh heavily on the mind of both parent and child.
In my opinion, you’ll hear hints of Springsteen, Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam, CSNY/CSN, David Crosby, The Byrds, Dylan, and maybe even just a smidge of The Flying Burrito Brothers. Some will call it Americana. Others will call it “roots music.” Still others will call it country rock.
I think I’ll just call it “Hirschberg.”
Follow Eric Hirschberg at EricHirschbergMusic.com.