Many are the reasons an artist desires to be retro. For some, it may be a desire to identify with some hip aspect of a bygone style. For others, it's a sincere desire to stamp a personal interpretation on a style that may have fallen out of favor. Oconomowoc-reared singer-songwriter Eric Andersen falls into the latter camp. Even at its most popular, 1970s soft rock was never particularly hip. But Andersen distills the sincerest elements of Billy Joel, Elton John, Bread and Jackson Browne and filters them through his own sensitive-guy persona and vulnerable tenor for a debut album that threatens to defy chronological categorization. If nothing else, his piano skills could give some of his aging heroes a run for their old money.
Eric Andersen performs June 1 at Shank Hall.
