Friday 25 December 2015

Eric Bibb & JJ Milteau - Lead Belly's Gold


Rating: 5/5

Review:
Terrific stuff



I think this is terrific stuff.  It's a mixture of Lead Belly and traditional songs, played and sung with a mixture of blues, gospel and Cajun infulences which gives them a brilliance that really makes them shine.

The playing and arrangements are simply excellent.  There's nothing flashy or extravert about it, and in fact it sounds deceptively simple at times, but there's genuine, quiet virtuosity in abundance from the whole small band.  To my ears, everything is perfectly judged: we get some infectious stompers, quietly melancholy songs and some really biting political protests, too, and every one is just great.  It really takes something to make well-worn songs like Swing Low, Pick A Bale Of Cotton and Goodnight Irene sound fresh and original, but Bibb and his band do just that.  Brilliant.

People have been recommending Eric Bibb to me for some time now, but I've only just got around to hearing him and I've plainly been badly missing out.  This is a bit of real class, I think, and a hugely enjoyable album which I can recommend very warmly.

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