Eden Brent “Getaway Blues” (2024) CD Review

Eden Brent is a singer and pianist from Mississippi working in the blues realm. Her new album, Getaway Blues, features all original material, written by the husband-and-wife team of Bob Dowell and Eden Brent. This is Eden Brent’s first new album since her 2018 holiday album, and her first studio release of new material since 2014’s Jigsaw Heart. Interestingly, it was recorded in London at Fish Factory Studio, pretty far from Mississippi, and done in two days. The album was produced by Bob Dowell, who also plays bass on these tracks. Rob Updegraff is on guitar, and Pat Levett is on drums.

Eden Brent kicks off the album with its title track, “Getaway Blues,” and immediately wins our love with that fun honky-tonk piano work. “I gotta get away/From here someday/Soon as I get paid/I don’t plan to stay.”  Soon the song kicks into gear, and everything is moving just right. And wherever she is going, we want to go too. Rob Updegraff gets a chance to shine on guitar, while that wonderful groove continues. “I got the getaway blues/Gotta get away from you.” I am digging her vocal performance here, but it is her piano lead that is especially delicious, as she is rocking those keys. I wish that section went on a little longer. Then holy moly, check out her vocal performance on “Watch The World Go By.” The song opens with some nice work on piano, but when she starts to sing, she just totally owns us. The first line is “You got me feeling awful sad and lonesome,” and the way she delivers the words “awful sad” is so intoxicating and sultry and wonderful. “Let me pour a little whiskey/And watch the world go by.” Yeah, this song tastes as good as a glass of whiskey, and goes down as smoothly. At moments she belts out certain lines, then immediately draws us closer by getting more intimate again. And the band delivers a cool, laid-back blues jam. This is one of my personal favorite tracks.

Things get fun with “What You Want.” At the beginning, Eden Brent sings, “I’ll give you anything and everything/Baby, tell me what you want.” Well, what I want is more music like this.  I’m totally digging its vibe. “I am an expert in the field of romance/I’ve got the resume and references too/I’m ready, willing, able to dance/So, baby tell me what you want me to do.” Any person who hears her sing will have no doubt about her credentials. We don’t need to check those references. Besides, that guitar is certainly vouching for her, testifying on her behalf. Though again, it is her work on the keys that especially stands out. She slows things down then with “You On My Mind,” a love song with a heartfelt, passionate and incredibly moving vocal performance. “Ordinary days are better again/I could feel happy with dark clouds and rain/Watching the grass grow or the sun going down/Nothing else matters as long as you’re around.” Bob Dowell wrote this one. May each of us experience this kind of love.

There is something kind of sexy about “He Talks About You,” not only in Eden Brent’s vocal performance, but in that groove. This one is sung from one woman to another. “It’s not love that you observe/To use such language is absurd/Because he talks about you all the time.” There is a 1970s feel to this one, particularly in that section where it takes on that disco beat. “I am resigned to being the other woman/Wishing that the love you share were mine/But you have and I have not/I cannot lose what I ain’t got.” That’s followed by “Just Because I Love You.” This is one that will have you smiling and feeling good within three or four seconds. “Just because I love you, baby, everything will be okay.” The piano is dancing here. This track is a lot of fun, even before it mentions New Orleans and Mardi Gras, and there is a good jam in the middle, a jam that feels like a celebration, a party.

“Mississippi River Got Me Crying” has something of a relaxed, laid-back blues vibe, creating a strong sense of place. And the track features a lovely vocal performance. “And the Mississippi River got me crying over you/She moves you so slowly/Silent and dark/And still you remain right here in my heart.” I love that guitar lead in the middle, the way it breathes. That’s followed by “Rust,” a very cool, slow blues number. “My man don’t ever leave me/He sticks to me just like rust,” Eden Brent sings here. That’s great, a mixture of positive and normally negative images there. This track features another absolutely fantastic and captivating vocal performance, plus some seriously nice stuff on piano and a cool and interesting guitar lead. At the end Eden tells us, “It’s rust that makes him frisky/And rust that makes him last.” This is another of my favorites. The album then concludes with a light, playful number titled “Gas Pumping Man.” I lived in Oregon for a time, where there was a law requiring attendants to pump gas, but I don’t recall any of those guys being as cool as this song. “He is my high octane baby/He makes my motor purr/I am his hot rod driving lady/We’re causing quite a stir.”

CD Track List

1. Getaway Blues
2. Watch The World Go By
3. What You Want
4. You On My Mind
5. He Talks About You
6. Just Because I Love You
7. Mississippi River Got Me Crying
8. Rust
9. Gas Pumping Man

Getaway Blues is scheduled to be released on June 21, 2024 on Yellow Dog Records, and will be available on vinyl as well as CD.