Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
It is a memory for most of us, the moment when the schoolteacher would ask the pupils under their guidance to write a letter to their future selves, to imagine, if possible, how their lives panned out, what hopes, untold, and as yet unthought desires have happened in their lives and which shaped the future.
Perhaps time might have been better served if we had written to the country we were born in, resided and were educated in; or maybe the country that has dominated our thoughts with its insistence of being both the provider of dreams and the arbitrary, often spoilt and raving policeman of the world, and taken it to task for the issues that they have ignored and has brought the world to the brink of social and ecological disaster.
For generations, Dear America has been the inspirer of those dreams, but how do you write a letter of love and a note of caution, of concern, of vigilance to one who has been in your heart since you were born, offering images, giving you a taste of all things pop culture, of the narrow viewpoint of history.
In a period of Time that has seen the country become arguably its own unrivalled laughing stock politically, in an era not just of social upheaval, but of the unquiet discontent and open fury with the status of those who seek harm on the nation’s poor and ethnic groups, who still believe somehow the rights of women, of the black community, the environment, of gay, lesbian and transgender communities are meaningless compared to those who are able to carry a gun, who can hide behind a uniform and a badge after they inflict harm, the love letter that we wish to send has all but been placed in a draw, left unsigned, and locked away till the day we can send it without having second thoughts
For Grammy-nominated artist, and godson of the revered Paul Robeson, Eric Bibb, Dear America represents the truth of the situation inside a country he undoubtedly loves, but who can also see the pain it inflicts on others, as well on itself. He remembers the hope and idealism, he feels the shame, he loves the country, and like much of the world, he is anxious, disturbed by the lack of empathy and the sheer weight of history on the shoulders for whom one nation under God has become an emblem of destruction and want.
It is in the conviction of the man and the artist that Dear America is one of seeking balance, of restoration to all that was once filled with hope, and in tracks such as the terrific Born Of A Woman, Different Picture, Emmett’s Ghost, White & Black, and Love’s Kingdom, and if the system was left to people of principle and persuasion such as Eric Bibb, then perhaps that love letter which we long to send, might be removed from its inglorious draw, and sent with pride, with honour once more.
Eric Bibb was never going to be a man who sat by silently as his country suffered, and he proves in Dear America that it is possible to love your country and at the same time be wary of the path it is painfully taking. An album of passion, an album of forgiveness waiting to happen, but also an album that understands that often, what we desire from our country is not what inspires us to write, but the opposite, that is foibles, its weakness, and fateful bad habits are what drive us to create art.
Eric Bibb releases Dear America on September 10th via Provogue/Mascot Label Group.
Ian D. Hall