It's always great to welcome a collection from Eric Bibb, whose very name guarantees quality. His dulcet, almost languorous, tones have graced almost 40 solo albums, and numerous collaborative ventures, and ‘In the real world’, adds to that luminous body of work.
Playing Acoustic blues with a heart, and a message, Bibb has long ago achieved legendary status, with a string of Grammy awards and devotees to his wonderful slow melodic cannon of work.
This is a follow-up to the Grammy-nominated, ‘Ridin’ album, and Eric himself suggests:
There’s a wholeness about ‘In The Real World’ that deeply moves me. It feels like Glen Scott (Producer)and I have reached a milestone on our collaborative journey. Musically, the album feels like a self-portrait because it truly represents my influences.
His work has always been driven by a singular, underlying message, that we need to learn to understand and love each other more:
So many dying of thirst
Love is the water
We all need now (‘Take the Stage’)
That message acknowledges major obstacles in the path. Issues of social justice are never too far away, and racism looms large, today, as it does in our history.
Songs such as ‘Make a change’
Gotta stop Lyin’, ‘bout the past,
Face the music, tell the truth,
Spread the word, best advice I ever heard,
Wanna see a change in the world
Eric chooses to tell real-life stories to highlight issues, rather than bang the drum, hence we have the gently probing inquiry into the treatment of baseball legend, Jackie Robinson, on ‘Stealin’ Home’.
Another little gem, ‘King of the Castle’, features the story of a homeless man, whose ‘castle’ is built of cardboard.
So the story of a singular man, takes on a much larger premise, and an issue that Society, continues to ignore, and brings us back to Eric’s singular message, of understanding and love.
The album is best listened to in a quiet setting, and deserves, and merits, repeated plays.
There are many little gems in the album, and it takes time to fully appreciate the layers on exhibit in songs such as ‘This River, (Chains and Free)’, ‘Dear Mavis’, ‘Roll on Buddy’, and ‘Judgement Day’.
Those layers, are created by a stellar band that Eric has around him. Amongst that stellar band, one stands out. Robbie McIntosh, is a former member of The Pretenders, and has worked alongside some of the biggest names in the business, including Sir Paul McCartney, Tom Jones, and Mark Knopfler. Here he adds little dashes and colour and fills that expand the musical palette on display.
The album concludes with the luminous ‘Victory Voices’, a beautiful duet with Lily James, that reiterates Eric’s message of love over evil, and a force we need to pass on to our children.
One by one, I wrote down the names Of the friends in my life
Who belong to the same tribeI don’t mean race, color or religion
But being united by a common decision an’ vibeDeciding in our hearts to be Voices for the victory
Of love, light an’ harmony Over darkness
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if people listened to Eric’s message, in the real world?