Eric Gales Middle Of The Road

Middle of the Road is Eric Gales fourth album on Provogue/Mascot label Group after Transformation (2011), Relentless (2010) and The Psychedelic Underground (2007) and it sees him at his most expressive yet; it is a deeply personal and reflective record that echoes where he is in his life right now and he opens himself up and allows himself the chance to really flourish. Middle of the Road is the running theme throughout the record. "It's about being fully focused and centered in the middle of the road. If you’re on the wrong side and in the gravel you're not too good and if you're on the median strip that's not too good either, so being in the middle of the road is the best place to be", according to Eric. Along the way he brings in not only a host of guest and collaborators, but also those closest to him: Lauryn Hill, Gary Clark Jr, Eugene Gales, LaDonna Gales, Lance Lopez, Raphael Saadiq and Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram.

Eric Gales spent a good portion of his career in the wilderness – chalk it up to a combination of bad breaks and addiction – but he came storming back in 2017 with Middle of the Road, his first album for Provogue/Mascot Records. Peaking at four on the Billboard Blues chart, Middle of the Road brought Gales back in a big way, giving him the confidence to push himself on its 2019 sequel Bookends. Working with producer Matt Wallace – a stalwart of '90s alt-rock who worked with Maroon 5 after spending time with the Replacements and Faith No More – Gales doesn't reinvent the wheel, but he does place a greater emphasis on singing and song than he has in the past. It's a subtle but notable difference, one that helps Bookends feel fuller and sharper than many of Gales' past albums and one that also accentuates the recovery undercurrents that flow through the album.

Mike gathered up his buddies and they made a rocking tribute to the King of Rock n Roll Guitar, Chuck Berry. 20 tunes featuring 21 guest guitarists: Joe Bonamassa, Walter Trout, Robben Ford, Sonny Landreth, Richard Fortus, Alex Skolnick, Joanna Connor, Anders Osborne, Ryan Perry, Ally Venable, Albert Castiglia, Luther Dickinson, Jeremiah Johnson, Tommy Castro, Tinsley Ellis, Josh Smith, Kirk Fletcher, Jimmy Vivino, Kid Andersen, and introducing Charlie Berry the 3rd!