Why Eric Andersen sells fewer records than, say, Jackson Browne or James Taylor is beyond me. Certainly, he rates among folk’s most distinctive and expressive vocalists. And his songs are the sort that become integrally entwined with the listener’s life.

Answering the proverbial stuck-on-a-desert-island-with-five-LPs question, at any rate, I might well name The Collection, a generously long album that features such atmospheric highlights of Andersen’s Arista years as “Time Run Like a Freight Train” and “Moonchild River Song.” Also on the bill: sterling versions of three of his early classics: “Violets of Dawn,” “I Shall Go Unbounded,” and “Thirsty Boots.”

The album is available here.