Ohio
native and Chicago settler, Eric Noden is Midwestern
through and through, but somehow the Mississippi
Delta crept into his very soul. An oxymoron
is revealed in several places in Eric Noden’s
life. He didn’t sell his soul to the devil at
the crossroads, he made a deal with the angels
instead. Eric’s undying dedication to Chicago’s
Blues in the School program and the prewar acoustic
blues provide a patient, purist example of music
educator. A Midwesterner in geography, but a
southern gentlemen with the patience of a saint,
Eric has grown up a Bluesman in the industrial
Midwest. Raised on folk and blues, the young
man was practically born with a guitar, fell
in love with prewar blues, folk and gospel and
never abandoned his love.
Midwest
Blues embodies all of the descriptions above.
A very clean, fun and pure approach to the Blues
that blends original songs with covers fairly
seamlessly. In fact, Eric appears to hop in
his time machine when he writes and performs.
The album is nicely broken up with Eric’s switch
from guitar and piano. Rick Sherry (Devil in
a Woodpile/Bloodshot Records) keeps a good beat
on washboard on four of the tunes. Tom V. Ray
(Bottle Rockets/Bloodshot Records) helps out
on a few tracks on acoustic bass. "Black
Cat Bone", penned by Eric, features an
entire percussion unit of Eddie Ramos, Estaquio
Mendez and ‘Sammy’ (no last name mentioned –
could be someone in the witness protection program).
"River
Town" opens up the CD with the plucking
of the dobro and harp (Rick Sherry) and tapping
join in, an original song that holds up to all
the good river songs. Lyrics like "Blew
a gasket or cracked a head, The road I was riding
came to an end" emphasize Eric’s sense
of humor. Blind Willie McTell would be proud
of "River Town". Eric’s voice comes
across very well on this track; inflections,
vibrato and other uses make the song fairly
interesting. ‘Midwest Blues’ moves as well as
‘River Town’ with washboard accompaniment. Another
original song, this borrows from Mississippi
John Hurt and tells of the author’s wish to
do anything to get out of Ohio to Chicago. All
of us who’ve been to Ohio, can empathize with
the theme. Nice guitar work on this track keeps
the song moving along. "You Don’t Want
Me", the Mississippi John Hurt song, breaks
up the first two fast tracks and settles you
down. Eric’s rendition is lovely and lonely.
We move more into the barrelhouse juke joint
mode with ‘Take a Chance on Me’, another original.
The lyrics are simple on this song and lend
well to the more intricate and impressive piano
playing by Eric.
"Shelby
County Bound" has a completely different
feel than the other songs, and less Blues and
more rock. This is about the only song I would
depict as contemporary on the record. It’s OK,
but not his strongest track on either vocals
or arrangement. "Cincinnati Flow Rag",
by Reverend Gary Davis is played true to form
and well by Eric. "Key to the Highway"
– Big Bill Broonzy – is treated much like Broonzy’s
original version, unlike the countless other
covers of the song. I like the fact that there’s
absolutely no accompaniment on this song and
Eric’s lead guitar playing is excellent on this
tune.
"Chi-Town
Breakdown" another Eric song, makes you
want to find this party in Chicago. Eric’s songs
take on a completely different personality when
he plays the piano. This has a nice boogie-woogie
feel to it and his piano work is truly spirited
on this tune. Eric has spent some time in New
Orleans and the next two tracks are noted as
New Orleans and Delta Blues arrangements respectively.
‘Buddy Bolden’ is a solid guitar instrumental,
the tenth track is "Catfish Blues"
covered by almost every Bluesman in the world.
Eric’s version incorporates some nice guitar
work that reminds me of the Big Joe Williams
rendition. I’d say Big Joe is living somewhere
in Eric’s Blues psyche, just as much as the
Reverend, John Hurt and Skip James.
The
album wraps up with two more originals, "What’s
on Your Mind", a St. Louis Blues song that
features Eric on piano and Rick Sherry on washboard
and "Black Cat Bone". "Black
Cat Bone" has a bossa nova feel to it with
a beginning reminiscent of Buena Vista Social
Club. However, because of the sophistication
of the instrumentation and arrangement on this
song, Eric’s vocals don’t quite fit the song.
This would have been worthy of an overdub on
the vocals, so he could sing this a little closer
to the arrangement. But this is a fun song and
it definitely sounds like all of the musicians
enjoy themselves on this tune.
Overall
this is a great effort that provides a roots
perspective of the Blues with a renewed interest
and passion by Mr. Noden. "Midwest Blues"
is a history lesson of the love of the Blues
and Eric deserves high honors for both this
effort and his Blues in the Schools programs.
A worthy addition to any Blues collection with
support to a man who’s carrying on a great tradition
that wears very well.
By
Dave Glynn
Lead Singer of the Empty Can Band found at www.emptycanband.com
This
review is copyright © 2005 by Dave Glynn,
and is reprinted by permission by Blues On Stage
at: www.mnblues.com,
all rights reserved
