Review: Eric Bibb – One Mississippi
Repute Records | Released January 30, 2026
At 73, Eric Bibb continues his late-career renaissance with one of his most ambitious albums yet. One Mississippi arrives as his 35th studio release. Moreover, it marks his most musically adventurous work to date. The three-time Grammy nominee reunites with producer Glen Scott for 14 tracks recorded in Uppsala, Sweden. This time, however, Bibb takes full creative control. Consequently, he delivers his most personal statement in five decades of making music.
The album opens with its only cover. Janis Ian and Fred Koller wrote the title track. Bibb and Ian attended high school together in 1960s New York. The shuffling tune plays on the familiar counting phrase “One Mississippi, Two Mississippi.” However, it never reaches three. Instead, it examines how quickly the blues heritage can disappear. The remaining thirteen tracks come from Bibb’s pen. He co-writes most with Scott. Together, they weave stories from America’s past and present, calling for peace and unity in divided times.
Bibb centers the album around his immaculate acoustic guitar and banjo work. UK virtuoso Robbie McIntosh adds electric slide, dobro, and resonator guitar. His expressive playing brings depth and grit to Bibb’s storytelling. Meanwhile, Paul Jones and Greger Andersson contribute blues harp. Sven Lindvall’s tuba appears on “Muddy Waters,” giving the back porch swagger an unexpected texture. Fiddlers Zosha Warpeha and Esbjörn Hazelius add rural authenticity. Furthermore, backing vocalists Shaneeka Simon and Sara Bergkvist Scott lift several tracks into gospel territory.
“Muddy Waters” declares Bibb’s blues identity no matter where he travels. The one-chord “This One Don’t” follows with Andersson’s blues harp driving the groove. Bibb inspired this track at a Blues Fever festival in Vienna. The crowd’s dancing energy feeds the funkiest recording of his career. “Didn’t I Keep Running” features Bibb on six-string banjo. He sings about someone escaping slavery. However, listeners can apply the story to other situations.
The tone shifts dramatically between tracks. “It’s a Good Life” counts blessings with optimism. Then “No Clothes On” decries leaders’ vanity and their willingness to erase history. Bibb delivers the line “struttin’ down the street like the boss, with no clothes on” with subtle mockery. The rhythm stays upbeat. Nevertheless, the message cuts deep.
“Crossroad Marilyn Monroe” stands as a pivotal track. McIntosh’s stinging electric guitar underscores the horrific Emmett Till story. Bibb recounts how Carolyn Bryant’s courtroom lie freed the murderers. In the final verses, he notes she admitted lying 50 years later. The truth will set you free, he reminds us. Similarly, “New Window” moves quickly from hate crime to hope. Someone throws a brick through a window. Yet Bibb views a more harmonious world through the replacement glass.
Scott’s production decorates the acoustic foundation with contemporary touches. Electric guitars appear strategically. An array of keyboards adds color without overwhelming. The mix places Bibb’s warm baritone voice front and center. His smooth vocal delivery softens hard messages. Not a single note sounds harsh. Instead, he functions as a modern-day griot. He prioritizes the roles of informer and spokesperson over entertainer.
The album’s back half leans heavily into socio-political themes. “Change” taps feet with McIntosh and Staffan Astner’s electric guitars. Simon’s backing vocals punctuate Bibb’s determination. Like Sam Cooke’s classic, this song acknowledges change comes whether we want it or not. “Waiting on the Sun” breathes peaceful activism over McIntosh’s burning slide. Bibb urges mutual help rather than passive observation.
“Go Down Ol’ Hannah” reads like a Negro spiritual. “If You’re Free” mirrors “It’s a Good Life” thematically. However, Bibb points out those less fortunate. The closing tracks “Show Your Love” and “We Got to Find a Way” deliver deliberate calls for unity. They balance the album’s heavier moments with messages of hope.
Bibb grew up in a home where his father marched alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. That proximity to history shaped his worldview long before he found his musical voice. You can hear that inheritance throughout One Mississippi. He brings moral clarity and deliberate pacing to each lyric. His sound remains timeless. Yet he often gets overlooked in the States because he records and tours mainly in Europe.
One Mississippi follows his Grammy-nominated 2023 album Ridin’ and the critically acclaimed 2024 release In the Real World. This new collection proves Bibb refuses to rest on five decades of reputation. Instead, he keeps exploring and growing. Few artists marry traditional blues idioms with contemporary concerns as skillfully. Even fewer do it with such grace and warmth. This album represents a vivid snapshot of his musical and personal evolution, shaped by history but unafraid of reinvention.
Want to know more about this great artist ? See our Eric Bibb profile
