Genre: Blues/Rock/Roots

Bold Life Magazine – CD Reviews: Eric Congdon Eric Congdon

BY BRENT FLEURY

A veritable “jack of all trades”, Congdon does it all himself — guitars, dobro, mandolin, percussion and drones — on this self-titled release, and does it well. Gary Segal does appear on several tracks with some raunchy, textured harmonica work, but other than that, Congdon’s multi-instrumentalist talents go a long way here. Mixing roots, blues and country with some contemporary jazz and classical influences, Congdon is able to take the arrangements of his songs in some very interesting directions — standard “verse/chorus/bridge” structure does not apply in this case, and that keeps the listener intrigued. As the album is entirely instrumental (and obviously requiring numerous overdubs), each instrument is allowed to ebb and flow with the others, creating spiraling webs of melody — so much so that the ears don’t even miss the presence of a vocal melody in the slightest. One of more uniquely styled (and technically proficient) players I’ve heard lately, Congdon really has something happening here, and I think he knows it, as this album exudes a sense of confidence, not to mention a musical beauty reminiscent of one of my favorites — the great Jimmy Page.

For more info visit: ericcongdon.com