:: Eric Bibb - Diamond Days

Eric Bibb

Blues/soul/gospel/folk artist Eric Bibb isn’t an artist who’s content to stand idle for too long, and hot off the heels of his collaboration with his father Leon Bibb (2006’s ‘Praising Peace - A Tribute To Paul Robeson’), Bibb is back with his latest solo release ‘Diamond Days’. Within the last ten years, Bibb has been compared to the likes Keb’ Mo’ and Taj Mahal, and universally hailed as one of most gifted crossover artists to emerge on the blues scene in years to mention. But for all his critical acclaim, Bibb still remains something of an unearthed gem for most. All that is set to change with the release of his latest album ‘Diamond Days’. Working alongside producer/pianist/percussionist Glen Scott once again, Bibb offers up his most diverse collection of songs to date, with his songs on ‘Diamond Days’ being stripped back to their roots, revealing Bibb as both a gifted artist and a storyteller with few peers. The African/gospel acoustic based opener ‘Tall Cotton’ and ‘Storybook Hero’ are typically Bibb sounding with their inspirational messages and simple delivery, while the blues/harmonica delivered ‘Destiny Blues’, the philosophical ‘Dr Shine’ and the traditional ‘Worried Man Blues’ are steeped in soul that comes only from the Deep South. The up beat and positive ‘Shine On’ and the peace anthem ‘Forgiveness Is Gold’ are as contemporary and radio friendly sounding as anything gets on the album, while the ballad ‘So Glad’ is given a distinctive soul edge with the subtle use of brass in the background.

The autobiographical title track ‘Diamond Days’, the jazz tinged ‘Heading Home’ and ‘Buckets Of Rain’ are beautifully focussed around Bibb’s gentle/laid-back voice, while on ‘Still Livin’ On’, Bibb acknowledges the influence blues legends (Mississippi John Hurt, Elizabeth Cotton, Rev. Gary Davis, Son House and Pops Staples) had on him, and still do to this day. Bibb has also included a live (in the studio) rendition of ‘In My Father’s House’, which sees Bibb belting out gospel to a thundering percussion heavy backing band (including Eric Clapton’s long time bassist Dave Bronze), which unsurprisingly enough, emerges as one of the album’s strongest tracks. Bibb has covered many different genres throughout his long career, but ‘Diamond Days’ is Bibb’s first concerted effort to bring his many influences out on the one album. With so many different sounds and styles on offer, ‘Diamond Days’ could have well sounded disjointed and confused, but instead turns out to be Bibb’s strongest material to date, with every song flowing as smooth as Bibb’s remarkable voice.