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CD REVIEW: Eliot Popkin - "The Endless Ride"
By Gian F - 07/19/2005 - 05:11 PM EDT

Artist: Eliot Popkin
Album: "The Endless Ride"
CD Review: Genre: Adult Alternative Pop
Sounds Like: James Taylor
Technical Grade: 10
Production/Musicianship Grade: 10
Commercial Value: 9
Overall Talent Level: 9
Songwriting Skills: 10
Performance Skill: 9
Best Songs: The Reason Why, A Little Bit More, Endless Ride,
Weakness: He's corrected them all through perseverance
CD Review: Eliot Popkin, a singer/songwriter from Los Angeles, California via the esteemed Berklee School of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, sent in this song-oriented project that contains adult contemporary, light rock, and even some country flavored tracks that have a stunning, updated retro 70s feel.

The performances and songwriting on this CD are strong and persuasive. They also display, in abundance and with great effect, Eliot's penchant for writing memorable hooks, distinguished melodies, and mature lyrics. They also showcase keen insight and seldom seen male vulnerability in this increasingly misogynistic era and industry.

His most commercial song (and the front-runner for my best ballad of 2005 Muse's Muse Award) is "The Reason Why," a piano and voice track that is significantly enhanced by a captivating string arrangement that brilliantly illuminates both the power and sincerity of Eliot's voice, which will not win any vocal competitions, but will instantly win the affections of those who listen. It's the type of song that wins songwriting competitions, gets featured in movies, and becomes a timeless classic. It could also be his cash cow and his ticket to ride the success train.

I could site other standout tracks on this project like the poignant and mellow, "Endless Ride," the inspirational, "I Don't Wanna," the instructional, "You've Got Love," or what should be the follow-up single to "The Reason Why," the socially conscious, "A Little Bit More," but instead, I would strongly encourage, and highly recommend, baby boomers and lovers of great music with accessible lyrical content, to purchase this CD at the first available opportunity (which is now).

Having met Eliot at the Los Angeles Women In Music Conference where I mentored him some years ago, I'd be remiss if I concluded this review without saying how proud I am of what he has accomplished since relocating to LA from Newton, Massachusetts to pursue his dreams. He should be an inspiration to those who are seeking the courage to take that leap of faith.

With talent and persistence like his, it will indeed be, an endless ride.

Advice: Get your business affairs in order. You are well on your way.

www.eliotpopkin.com


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