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Eric Bibb - Blues, Ballads & Work Songs - Opus 3- CD22111 (2011)
SACD rip via PS3 to iso (2.21GB) | 24bit/88.2kHz flac | only 2ch (1.13GB) DR13 (+6dB gain) | Folk blues

This is just superb. Eric is just a great storyteller & this set is very intimate. It's like having him sing in your living room just to you & your friends. The mix probably needs a better stereo than most of us have so its worth taking some time to adjust the sound. This is not a showy record, nor is Eric singing out to a big crowd. He is just getting into the songs & if you listen he will draw you in.
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Amazon review by G. E. Harrison: 

Two of my favourite CDs of the last 20 years are Eric's 'Spirit & the Blues' & 'Good Stuff' both recorded in Sweden on the Opus 3 label;  both featuring Eric's wonderful singing, good modern songs & superb playing from the Swedish backing musicians. I was therefore very excited when I heard that this record was coming out on Opus 3 &d would feature Eric doing traditional blues, ballads & worksongs. The record was suggested by Opus 3's Jan-Eric Persson & apparently Eric had also considered doing a similar record but "wasn't sure he was ready for it", he correctly notes that "the trick is to make it your own, while still honouring the tradition". The record was therefore recorded a couple of songs at a time between June 2005 & March 2011.

The first 10 songs on the album feature Eric solo doing traditional blues & folk, then there are an extra 4 self-penned tracks including a guitar instrumental & 3 tracks where Eric is backed by musicians including bassist Roger Ekman, Congolese guitarist Kahanga Dekula & mouth percussionist Bo Juhlin.

I've got to say that on the 1st couple of listens I'm a bit disappointed & I'm not really sure why. Eric plays & sings everything marvelously, his guitar playing is more varied than it normally is & similarly he also varies the tone of his vocals. Also, the sound is really good (this is a hybrid SACD) but for me the magic that was present on his Opus 3 records noted above just isn't apparent here. I don't know if this is because the record was recorded over 6 years or because material like 'John Henry', 'Cocaine blues' & 'Stagger Lee' etc is just a bit too familiar. I'm exactly the same age as Eric & so I also grew up with & love these songs & while I think that Eric has definitely (in his own words) "honoured the tradition" I just feel that there is something missing. I sometimes feel that Eric's recent songs can be too 'polite' & 'politically correct' & I was hoping that these blues classics would give him more of an edge but I wonder if he has been too respectful to the tradition? I find this very frustrating because I thought that his recent 'Troubador live' CD with Staffan Astner on electric guitar was excellent. However, I felt that the augmented tracks here also lacked something, although I did like the African guitar from 'Master Vumbi' Dekula on 'My Honey Pie'. I'd probably go with the John Hurt-inspired 'Stagger Lee' as my favourite track & similarly Eric seems most at home on the Hurt/Gary Davis-style songs like 'Cocaine blues' 'Candy man' etc.

The 'sleeve notes' are very good with Eric noting which guitar he plays (7-string Martin, Stella, National etc) on each track as well as whose playing influeced his version of the track - John Cephas, Gary Davis & Dave Van Ronk etc. The lyrics are also included together with all the usual credits & also details of studio mikes & mixing equipment! The CD also comes in 'Super Jewel Box' a design of jewel case that I haven't seen before but which seems a great improvement on the normal cheapo CD case.

Eric Bibb says: 
"Blues, Ballads & Work Songs is an album I have been working on for most of my life. Its release coincides with my 60th birthday and it celebrates the music that first inspired me to become a guitar-playing singer. Being as passionate about writing songs as I am about singing and playing traditional material, I couldn't resist including the self-penned tunes at the end of the record. These newer songs, are the 'children' of the older ones."

  Available here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blues-Ballads-Work-Songs-Eric/dp/B005ED5NKU    

      Tracks:

01 Goin' Down the Road Feelin' Bad 3:07
02 John Henry 3:52
03 Take This Hammer 3:07
04 Cocaine Blues 2:37
05 Candy Man 3:09
06 Goin' Down Slow 4:23
o7 Sittin' on Top of the World 3:15
08 Come Back Baby 5:39
09 Frankie & Albert 3:12
10 Stagger Lee 3:25
11 Juke Dance 2:04
12 My Honey Pie 3:47
13 Satisfied 4:04
14 Sophisticated Shade 2:32