Album: Get Onboard /  Artist: Eric Bibb /  12 tracks  /   Flatbrim Recordings (distributed by Telarc International, a division of Concord Music Group)

Acoustic blues guitarist / singer / songwriter Eric Bibb’s new CD Get Onboard, picks up where he left off with his 2007 album Diamond Days, creating earthy ballads that pay homage to simple themes, and the pioneers of blues music. The talented bluesman also expands upon the gospel flavor that slightly graced Diamond Days, with his song, “In My Father’s House.” The current album opens with two unmistakable gospel tunes, “Spirit I Am,” a play on the Old Testament words that God used to reveal himself to the Moses as the great “I Am,” and the song “Promised Land,” a farmer’s petition to God, which has a direct reference to the parting of the Red Sea, in the last verse. The theme of the two songs never comes across as preachy, but instead as a mere reflection of the fabric of the farmer in the second song, and as a subtle longing of the singer in the first tune.

Listeners will revel in “New Beale Street Blues,” which bears the trademark Eric Bibb, laid back, unblemished vocals, and a nice blues shuffle. The song nods to the historic roots for blues music, and the people who helped pioneer the sound. Beale Street (formerly Beale Avenue), is located in Memphis Tennessee, and if not the birthplace of the blues, certainly can be referred to as the place where blues music became consolidated as a genre, between the 1860’s and 1930’s. Bibb’s song expresses a desire to return to Beale Street, and meet up with Memphis Minnie, Gus Cannon, best known for his jug band in the early 20^th century, harmonica player Noah Lewis, a contemporary of Cannon, and blues guitarist / singer /songwriter Joe McCoy, who incidentally also was the husband of Memphis Minnie.  In addition to Bibb, it is worth noting the contributions that Grant Dermody (harmonica), Orville Johnson (mandolin), and backup vocalists Glenn Scott and Tommy Sims, make to the song “New Beale Street Blues.”

The song “Get Onboard,” is a natural fit to follow “New Beale Street Blues,” and harpist Jenny Bohman picks up where Dermody left off, serving up some great notes from her harmonica. As the album Get Onboard rolls down the track, the things that you come to appreciate about Eric Bibb are the clarity of his vocals, his impeccable enunciation and his sincere phrasing.

“If Our Hearts Ain’t It,” is a spiritual missive that features a treasured guest performance on slide guitar by Bonnie Raitt. Raitt’s solo in the later stages of the song is beautiful and memorable. In the writing of “If Our Hearts Ain’t In It,” Bibb collaborated with Sari Matinlassi and Glenn Scott.

The simplicity of the love song, “Pockets,” reminds one of Bibb’s “Dr Shine,” from Diamond Days. Although thematically poles apart, the two tunes represent the core of Bibb’s songwriting, simple subjects, presented in a folksy way, and played with a gentle, easygoing rhythm.   

Other songs to listen for from Eric Bibb’s CD Get Onboard, include the Bibb/Ruthie Foster duet, “Conversation,” a song about relationships, “Step By Step,” dedicated to the memory of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his wife Coretta Scott King, and the civil rights anthem “Stayed On Freedom.”

Reviewed by Joe Montague for Riveting Riffs (www.rivetingriffs.com)

Reviewed March 2008

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