Eugene "Hideaway" Bridges
" Live In San Antonio "
BlueArmadillo

Blueswax Rating 8
Talent Worthy of Much More Recognition

This live recording shows Eugene Hideaway Bridges to be an underrated musician. His band ain't too shabby either, especially Justine M. Miller and Seth Kibel on horns. Rounding out this talented bunch are keyboardist David Webb, bassist Eric "Lollipop" King, and Bobby Baranowski on drums. Pat Manske sits in on bongos for one track. In total there are fifteen tracks, thirteen of which were authored by Bridges.

The opening cut, "I Got the Blues," gets the party started when Bridges states, "This is how I deal with the blues." The band shifts from a boiling introductory mode into a rollicking jumping swing performed at high-powered speed. Webb broils on B3-like keys, then hands it back to Bridges for a powerful vocal and speedy yet tasteful guitar solo.

No stopping these guys. Up next is "Woke Up This Morning," which keeps the jump-blues rolling with a nice and somewhat lengthy guitar introductory solo by Bridges and company. Off to the races they fly mostly powered by Bridges and bassist King as the horns continue to wail and prevail.

There are two Sam Cooke covers: "Rome Wasn't Built In A Day" and "Movin' and a Groovin'." The latter was co-written by Lou Rawls. Cooke and Rawls sang together in a gospel group Teenage Kings of Harmony. How hip must that have been? Anyway "Movin' and a Groovin" is old-school soul done in a divine groove.

Six other Bridges tunes stand out, including his roaring "Won't Be Your Fool." which is more pedal-to-the-metal jump aided by Webb's keys and Bridges' high flying guitar solos. The James Brown-like "I Know That You Love Me" is party-time funk with JB-styled horn fills nicely done, especially when the two horns solo, plus all of the band members take solos on this one. Bridges' "I Found It" could have been written by Sam Cooke and is downright sweet. "How Can I Win" is a neat soul-funk that offers progressive and funky guitar comps from Bridges guitar and is another solid inclusion. Another tip of the hat goes to Sam Cooke on Bridges' "You're the One," with a nice sax solo from Kibel. Concluding this fine recording is a jumping romp appropriately titled "Jump the Joint" that once again serves notice as to why Bridges deserves to be better known.

This CD is recommended listening. Bridges is well worth your time and investment of your hard-earned dollars, and this LP is well recorded, captured raw and live. I've never seen Bridges and his band perform, but judging from this recording he deserves to be added everyone's wish list of musicians to be seen live and appreciated for his multi-talents. See you there!

Bob Putignano a senior contributing editor at BluesWax. He is also the heart of Sounds of Blues at www.SoundsofBlue.com. Bob maybe contacted at: bob8003@yahoo.com

Bob Putignano: www.SoundsofBlue.com