Eric Bibb - Deeper in the Well
Eric Bibb’s most recent album, Deeper in the Well, is an album in disguise. There isn’t much that simply slaps the listener in the face, and yet there’s a mysterious, earthen feel that is infectious and impossible to stop listening to. This expansive sound could well be the genius that is Eric Bibb.
Bibb came to Louisiana, a folk hotspot, to record the latest in his 36-album repertoire, and the setting shines into the music. Well is a folk gem, dabbling in bluegrass with a healthy dose of zydeco. For fans of any folk-soaked genre, this is the a standout album for any number. With an assembled repertoire of instruments like 6-string banjo, diddley bow, fretless banjo, several fiddles, mandolin, accordion, upright bass, tambourine, and cajun triangle in the credits, Well commands a place among fans of the more americana genres.
“Bayou Belle” is just as confortable in the Atchafalaya basin as in the hollers of southern Virginia. “Dig a Little in the Well” is a country blues classic that could just as well have come from the mighty Taj Mahal. An acoustic version, complete with banjo melody, of Bob Dylan’s ”The Times They Are A Changin’” is a beautiful, standout number.
Overall, the expansive bluegrass, cajun, and blues on Deeper in the Well is acutely pleasing to the ears, and feels simply phenomenal from start to finish.
