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nice moderately paced blues, ‘You’re Gonna Push Me Too Far’ co-written by Thomas with KT
Thomas, which is outstanding. Along with such original works are covers of ‘Rock Me Baby’ from
BB King and ‘Big Leg Woman’ by Freddie King, re-cast by Tito. This is great stuff. Check it out.
Great horn section too!
Ian K McKenzie
Eric Bibb—Dear America—Provogue Records
Eric Bibb needs no introduction to blues fans, he has established
himself as one of the best modern day blues songwriters to come
out of America. Eric has excelled once again with this brilliant
new album.
The album opens with ‘Whole Lotta Lovin’ a beautiful tune that
has that nice simple but precise style that Eric brings. ‘Born of a
Woman’ portrays a moving poignant message that Shaneeka
Simon really enhances with some great vocals. On ‘Whole
World’s Got the Blues’, Eric Gales guests on electric guitar. Gales
is on top of his game with such great feel and timbre that he lifts
this earthy blues and makes it great.
The title track ‘Dear America’ carries a rootsy message whilst ‘Tell Yourself’ has that lovely
signature acoustic guitar picking that we have all come to love. ‘Emmett’s Ghost’ is such a sad story
that is so well articulated by Bibb.
‘Talkin’ Bout a Train Part 1’ is a great blues tune made even better with some awesome harmonica
work from Billy Branch no less and ‘Talkin’ Bout a Train Part 2’ really starts to funk it up! The
album closes with a slow ballad ‘One-ness of Love’ where Eric forms a duet with Lisa Mills.
Eric Bibb has such a gentle voice that is so pleasant to listen to. He also has a lovely style of guitar
picking that really suits his type of songwriting. Bibb tackles some serious issues on this album but
he has such an eloquence about him that he has once again managed to produce a fantastic album. I
recommend all you fellow blues fans give this a spin.
Ged Wilson
David Leask - Voyageur In Song - Jeddart Music
David Leask is a new name for me, originally from Scotland he
now resides in Canada where he has built a solid reputation as a
songwriter. ‘Voyageur In Song’ is a six track EP that comes with
a beautifully illustrated lyric booklet. All the songs are based
around different aspects of a specially built Six String Nation
acoustic guitar that is made up of over sixty four different pieces
of various Canadian artifacts and the guitar is nicknamed,
‘Voyageur’.
‘Against the Grain’ is a strong opening song that relates to a rare
variety of spruce for the guitar top. ‘The Legend of Joe Labode’ is
another well crafted song that relays the tale of a fisherman whose oyster shucking knife handle
was used to secure the strap post on the guitar. ‘Fire and Ice’ refers to the glints of blue
Labradorite that are embedded into frets three and nine on the guitar.