Ed Alstrom - Flee Though None Pursue (2025)

He calls himself an “itinerant musician and musical disaster relief specialist.” He's performed with the likes of Chuck Berry, Leonard Bernstein, Bette Midler, Herbie Hancock, Steely Dan and, yes, even the New York Yankees, where he reigns as the stadium's weekend organist.

He is Ed Alstrom, a veteran musician, singer, and songwriter with unrivaled skills on the organ, and not incidentally, many other instruments. On his latest release, Flee Though None Pursue, Alstrom deftly handles lead and background vocals, Hammond/Farfisa/pipe organs, piano, Fender Rhodes, clavinet, synthesizers, guitars, bass, mandolin, melodica, alto sax, accordion, theremin and percussion, weaving them all into his original musical style, with a varied group of talented musicians. He'll be representing the North Jersey Blues Society in the Solo/Duo competition at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in January.

The album is also filled with the wit and wisdom of Alstrom's masterful songwriting, with an often-otherworldly lyricism devoted to his eloquent storytelling in the eighteen original tracks. The title cut illustrates that internal and external dilemma: “So i remain marooned with this insanely troubled mind / And try to map a future while I run from what's behind / But what's behind me is not there, so what is there left for me to do? / Face eternity uncertain and keep fleeing though none pursue.”

Other themes surface as a question in the sprightly opener, “Be Nice,” with Alstrom asking “I wonder what it might be like / If folks would just be nice.” As if in response to Little Milton's classic “The Blues Is Alright,” Alstrom takes a more introspective view with the organ-fueled “The Blues Ain't All Right” – “Nobody's blues are unimportant / Nobody's misery is trite / Nobody’s served right by sufferin’ - and the blues ain’t never all right.” A slashing slide guitar highlights the melancholy vocal of a deep “Slow Blues” – “Misery has found you - and you just can’t be free / Until you hear these slow slow blues, and then you’re in mighty good company.”

The bouncy shuffle of “The Truth” serves as counterpoint to its message: “On the road to truth you take, there’s only two mistakes: don’t go all the way or don’t even start.” The hypnotic rhythm of “Sick” is reminiscent of the classic Doc Pomus song “Lonely Avenue” by Ray Charles but adds its own lyrical strength: “Sick of livin’ and dyin’ all at the same time / Sick of tryin’ / Sick of cryin’ / Sick of this saga that’s nobody’s drag but mine.”

“Always Near” is a gorgeous, melodic love song with jazzy overtones and lyrics by Kay Murcer: “Hold my memory, make some new ones, take me on where you go.” “The Record People” is a bit of honky-tonk piano behind a whimsical complaint about the music business: “The record people came tonight; they came to dig my grave.” The up-tempo “Sometimes” floats along, followed by the witty take of “Screwed” – “Bein’ a fool’s too expensive - I’m gonna stop gettin’ screwed.” A bit of optimism shows up in the clever wordplay of “H-O-P-E-L-E-S-S,” – “Gonna rise up from the depths and gonna grab that big brass ring.”

The easy swinging “Great Notch” describes a favorite watering hole where “You can decompress or just plain debauch.” Then “Fruitcake” rolls in with some New Orleans piano, dedicated to a loopy girlfriend. “Yours Is a Place” is a delicate love song: “I long to live my lifetimes at your place.” More rollicking piano leads into “Success,” which, alas, “just can’t be achieved.” The “Crossfire” of love is a bittersweet ode to lost romance. “I Drunk You Drive” rocks hard with the message of its title. The closer, “Don't Cry at My Funeral,” is a spiritually uplifting conclusion to an album overflowing with thoughtful lyrics: “Don’t cry for me, I’m happy, I’m free / And I won’t be cryin’ for you.”

With Flee Though None Pursue, Ed Alstrom has created a magical lyrical journey crafted with lively, imaginative storytelling that draws you in with his word wizardry and carries you along on his instrumental genius. You are hereby invited along for the joyous ride. ~Jim White