Wow; where do I even begin to talk about Eric Bibb and his new album release, In The Real World ? Earlier this year Bibb released the Live At The Scala Theater album and in 2023 he released the studio album, Ridin’ (which was nominated for a Grammy). He’s a three-time Grammy nominee, multi-award winning blues music artist who has 24 solo albums, eighteen collaborative albums, and four live albums to his credit. Bibb; a singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, began playing guitar at age seven and was raised in a musical family. Reportedly, Bibb, as a youngster was told by Bob Dylan to, “Keep it simple. Forget about all that fancy stuff”. At sixteen, he played on his dad’s television show, called “Someone New”. After attending Columbia University for a short time, and at the age of 19, he moved to Paris, France. There he met Mickey Baker, who directed Bibb’s playing interests toward blues music. Since then, he hasn’t looked back; playing with the likes of Taj Mahal, Charlie Musselwhite, Eric Gales and a host of others.
In The Real World, the newest album release from Eric Bibb, was released on October 18, 2024, and offers fifteen tracks on the CD recording (it is also available on a vinyl edition that contains twelve tracks and a free download card for the other three tracks). The recording features some great musicianship and vocals from an array of very talented people, including Robbie McIntosh and Lily James: as well as Glen Scott (who co-wrote some of the tunes on the CD and played a variety of different instruments). Bibb says about this recording, “It’s about the world we’ve created for ourselves and the world we long for”.
“Take The Stage” opens In The Real World and talks about a new world that is just waiting to take the stage. It is a smooth and touching tune and fosters the belief that there is still hope for this world that we live in. There is some really nice slide guitar offered up here by Robbie McIntosh. Cut two, “Walk Steady On”, is a great followup to the first song; suggesting that we should not be alarmed by what’s going on in this world and that we should continue to walk steady on in the “gospel”. Track six, “This River”, is a spiritual, almost ghostly sounding song that directs us to keep our eyes upon the prize and reminds us that it is going to take faith like a tree in this life. There are some great backing vocals here, also. In The Real World’s ninth song is “King Of The Castle” and it addresses the social issue of homelessness in the world today. Bibb sings of losing a job and most everything else and living in a castle made of cardboard. In the end the person in the song, after losing so much, still has his guitar and the blues. “Neshoba County” is about the three civil rights workers who traveled to Mississippi back in 1964 and were murdered because of the work that they were doing there. The movie, “Mississippi Burning” was also about this true story. “Dear Mavis” is a touching tribute to Mavis Staples and Bibb sings, “how you healed my soul”. Pops Staples also gets a mention in this heartwarming tribute song. “The Real World” is a tranquil piece that talks about the contrast of two different worlds; one good and one bad. The final track of In The Real World is “Victory Voices” and it features some great vocals by Lily James. “I want to be in the tribe of love”, is a lyrical line from this well done song. It is a relaxing, encouraging, and melodic song that you won’t, soon, forget.
Eric Bibb’s In The Real World is a collection of 15 well written and well recorded tunes that fit nicely into the acoustic/folk blues genre of music. The arrangements, musical contributions, and talent are first class. These are some of the reasons that Eric Bibb has had such a lengthy and successful career, and why he appears to still be at the top of his artistry. This project will likely be another success in Eric Bibb’s long list of musical accomplishments.
The Review: 9.5/10
Can’t Miss Tracks
– Take The Stage
– King Of The Castle
– Dear Mavis
– The Real World
– Victory Voices
The Big Hit
– Victory Voices
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