"Booker's Guitar" from Eric Bibb

by Scott Lyson 

The first track off of bluesman Eric Bibb's new album has quite a story behind it. Bibb was fortunate enough to meet a fan who was in possession of blues legend Booker White's guitar. White was an older cousin to B.B. King and a Delta Blues player. Just like one might infer from the album's title, Bibb is paying tribute to his favorite blues musicians from the past; and, in particular, the first track tells the story of Bibb being able to play Booker's old guitar.

Bibb has cited Blind Willie Johnson as one of his major influences. 'With My Maker I Am One,' is a spiritual song reminiscent of a Blind Willie tune. The recordings are relatively sparse because Bibb recorded the songs unaccompanied by a band, apart from some harmonica parts that appear throughout the album, performed by Grant Dermody. All but two of the songs were written by Bibb himself. 'Nobody's Fault But Mine' is a cover song which was written by Blind Willie Johnson. The first half of the album mellows out after the first track and becomes a traditional acoustic blues album. Bibb's smooth vocals and clean guitar playing gell together well with the contemporary yet familiar blues lyrics.

'Train From Aberdeen' is the lone instrumental in the middle of the album. It serves as a transition and indicates the rest of the tracks will become much more brighter and more upbeat. 'Turning Pages' is probably the catchiest of all the numbers and is a tribute to Bibb's love of reading. Like the lyrics throughout the album, 'Turning Pages' utilizes classic blues vocabulary and mixes in the contemporary. Working on the railroads, plowing the farms, relaxing in a rocking chair, and that woman turning and walking out the door. Bibb touches on all of the classic blues imagery.

In December, Bibb played a short set for NPR and stated that in his business artists are borrowing or just plain stealing from the ones who came before. This album does a great job of capturing Bibb's personality, and that's what's enjoyable about it. This is not a revolutionary blues album. There is nothing particularly unique about it. This album is a solid acoustic blues album from someone who greatly appreciates the past and is more than happy than living a life that perhaps Booker White or Blind Willie Johnson would be living today.