Global Griot
DixieFrog (2CD, 90 mins)
Eric Bibb knows what he’s doing by now. He’s released about 40 albums, give or take, and netted a bunch of awards in the process. Bibb uses his music to examine his own place in the world, and Global Griot sees him continue on that journey. The album is described as Bibb’s ‘most collaborative project yet,’ which rings true: it’s filled with guests from across North America, the Caribbean, West Africa and Europe, and it was recorded in seven different countries. There is a particular focus on the African, and it is the sound of Solo Cissokho’s kora that stands out across the album, the nylon strings rippling across the lilting blues in a completely natural way.
With his signature style of chilled-out, cheerful and slightly cheesy blues, this is essentially Eric Bibb doing what he does best, and it yields some lovely moments, such as the tracks ‘New Friends’ and ‘Mole in the Ground,’ featuring gospel singer Linda Tillery and reggae legend Ken Boothe, respectively.
The album may not be as ground-breaking as it promises, and the collaborations don’t result in anything particularly new, but as a world-facing blues album, it still hits the mark.