look: Eric Hughes Band - Two' In The Morning - EHB1633-2 - BUY

listen:

Muddy Waters Records

Volkswagon Blues

Breaktime At The Brier Patch

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Back in October one of the performance slots at the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival in Helena featured the Eric Hughes Band. Most of us who hadn't seen his show were very intrigued to say the least. A fresh look at the blues is always welcomed. Hailing from Memphis, this talented set of musicians are beginning to cut their teeth on the blues circuit. This project was recorded in Memphis at Brad Webb's studio, and produced by Webb and Hughes without a label. It contains 14 tracks, all of which appear to be original. Interesting enough, the CD cover design is an actual painting by Eric of a strange bar room scene.

The opener, "Did You Have To Take the Dog Too?" slices through a hopped up cadence only to carry on with a rock theme on "Holler If You Hear Me." The tempo is raised on "Muddy Waters Records," a simple request for the guy who borrowed them to give them back! The chord phrasing of "Along Came You" has a definitive Delta blues feel, while "Teeth in a Glass" features an intelligent original melody that fits well here. "Volkswagen Blues" is slightly acoustic, and "Who'd Clean Up the Mess?" delivers a prominent Country and Western theme. The peculiar melody of the instrumental "Crazy Joe" is quite reminiscent of the early Allman Brothers sound. "The Eight Fifteen" is a concise train song just over two minutes in duration. One significant gem on this CD is a sweet tribute to Memphis son Furry Lewis with "Furry's Gravesite Blues." Parts of the lyrics reveal how the writer shows up with a weed wacker to clean up the grave. There should be more guys like him! The closer "Wet Ribs," is a brief, solo piece for harmonica which is also an instrumental, and perfect for eating BBQ. Besides Eric on guitars, harp, and slight percussion, the players also consists of the lovely Laura Hughes on bass, Kevin Eddy on drums, Brad Webb and Larry Noble on guitars, and a talented Robert "Nighthawk" Tooms on B3 Hammond organ and piano. Check this one out where available, and get in with the new generation of blues performers.

(©) 2006, Dirk Wissbaum
BluesSource.com