{"id":2268,"date":"2013-09-14T19:41:38","date_gmt":"2013-09-14T19:41:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/216.71.127.204\/wordpress\/?p=2268"},"modified":"2015-10-20T19:41:57","modified_gmt":"2015-10-20T19:41:57","slug":"eric-burdon-til-your-river-runs-dry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/houstonmusicreview.com\/wordpress\/2013\/09\/14\/eric-burdon-til-your-river-runs-dry\/","title":{"rendered":"Eric Burdon – Til Your River Runs Dry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
Written by James Killen <\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sep 14, 2013 at 02:00 AM<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"Image\"British invasion veteran, Eric Burdon, has been recording for the last 50 years in various incarnations. He first hit the charts as the leader of the Animals, coming from the British Blues tradition and transitioning to the psychedelic movement with songs like \u201cWe Gotta Get Outta this Place.\u201d He moved back closer to his roots with the funk band, War, as the decades moved from 1969 to 1970. Always, Burdon\u2019s music was rock rooted in the blues and that is no more apparent than on his latest release, \u201c\u2019Til Your River Runs Dry\u201d.<\/p>\n

This record was released in February and so it\u2019s not brand new, but in relation to Burdon\u2019s career it\u2019s very new. The sound is clean and well produced. The first cut \u201cWater\u201d is in the blues rock tradition, and a thinly disguised protest against our lack of concern about our environment, stating that \u201cThe enemy does not know who the enemy is\u201d. \u201cMemorial Day\u201d continues in the same vein sporting a prominent back-beat by Brannen Temple and some nice Hammond B3 work by Red Young.<\/p>\n

\u201cDevil and Jesus\u201d delves a little deeper into the blues end of the pool, with a little swamp boogie guitar. Jim Pugh\u2019s piano and Eric NcFadden\u2019s Spanish guitar gives \u201cWait\u201d an uncharacteristic nightclub feel. \u201cOld Habits Die Hard\u201d rocks in a more \u201cAnimalistic\u201d manner with some very bluesy rock leads.<\/p>\n

\u201cBo Diddley Special\u201d is a very special dedication to one of Eric\u2019s blues rocking heroes, complete with Bo Diddley rhythm and a nice New Orleans feel about the tune. Johnny Lee Schell laid down some very cool slide guitar creeping to a climax over an organ gospel tone and one of the gutsiest blues vocal lines I\u2019ve ever heard from a UK citizen for \u201cIn the Ground\u201d.<\/p>\n

The production with piano and horns behind Burdon\u2019s voice on \u201c27 Forever\u201d creates an almost ghostly strain and features a well-crafted guitar lead. \u201cRiver is Rising\u201d (my personal favorite on this disc) is a primitive blues\/jazz deep swamp tune sliding all about the delta that would make Dr. John say \u201cOh, Yeah\u2026..\u201d The disc follows that with a very tight production of Marc Cohn\u2019s \u201cMedicine Man\u201d featuring the Eric\u2019s deep and thoughtful vocals.<\/p>\n

\u201cInvitation to the White House\u201d brought to mind Ry Cooder\u2019s \u201cJohn Lee Hooker for President\u201d in that the blues cuts through the political junk and gets right down to what should be our priorities as a blues nation. Burdon ends the disc with Bo Diddley\u2019s \u201cBefore You Accuse Me\u201d performed in a mast traditional and convincing blues piano and guitar style.<\/p>\n

Like the rest of us, Eric Burdon has grown up. The deep blues roots from which these songs were drawn and the very professional production pays tribute to the influences that folks like Bo Diddly, Pinetop Perkins and Howling Wolf had on Burdon in his early days. It\u2019s almost as though he had taken those influences to the brink of the psychedelic era and now with this disc has returned full circle. This disc is great for Burdon fans and blues fans alike.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by James Killen Sep 14, 2013 at 02:00 AM British invasion veteran, Eric Burdon, has been recording for the last 50 years in various incarnations. He first hit the charts as the leader of the Animals, coming from the British Blues tradition and transitioning to the psychedelic movement with songs like \u201cWe Gotta Get… <\/p>\n

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