Eddie 9V has powered up. From the day he first slung a guitar on a local stage, the Georgia-born bandleader announced himself as an artist to watch. But in the last few meteoric years, Eddie’s music has crossed oceans and airwaves, transcending his cult-hero status to become a beacon for fans of real music everywhere. Eddie has an endless stockpile of cool stories – and you’ll find twelve of them on this new studio album Saratoga. “Eddie 9V is something else,” wrote the UK’s Classic Rock of 2022’s chart-topping Capricorn. “A man who genuinely inhabits golden-era American roots, playing the most instinctive blues, you’ll hear all year.”
Right from the start, Eddie’s output pricked up ears, with 2019’s Left My Soul In Memphis dubbed “fresh and life-affirming” by Rock and Blues Muse and the chaotic free-for-all of 2021’s Little Black Flies praised by Classic Rock Magazine as “like having all your best mates in the speakers”. In 2023, he got his best reviews yet for Capricorn, a record tracked at the near-mythical Macon studio of the same name, that led The Guardian and Classic Rock’s Henry Yates to declare: “As an artist, he sounds fully charged”.
You’ll find the proof on new studio album Saratoga, now out on the fabled Ruf label. It’s a record that will appeal to newcomers and fans alike, showcasing his fresh, fiery spin on Southern soul, blues, rock and funk, with a signature wit and sharp observations of modern America placing him squarely in the here-and-now. This album is more ‘Americana’ than before, with less emphasis on the blues and solos and more of a focus on the song-writing.
The new songs of Saratoga deserve nothing less than your full attention. Eddie’s latest album announces his new groove with the crisp, purposeful beats of the opening title track, an instant favourite that gets under your skin with its insane earworm of a opening guitar line. There’s also almost disco-style harmonies and a full-on joust of horns and slide guitar, plus some great licks and catchy drum and bass (“That song is about being in a lonely tiny town that feels impossible to escape”). A fine opener and first single, setting out the band’s stall for what’s to come!
Halo is the second track and second single, a similarly catchy beat to the opener and more nice touches of brass. By now, I’ve fallen for the low-key, rootsy arrangements on display (even though I’m not the biggest fan of falsetto singing!) Cry Like The River brings the mood right down, a slow bar-room blues number, shimmering organ underpinning the song, then the brass section and gospel choir completing that retro southern soul vibe.
Love Moves Slow could be described as bringing vintage motown-style soul into the modern era. Eddie’s voice sounds like a “proper black guy” singing on this one. Slow, luscious, bluesy. Delta “flows” (huh!) in the same ‘spacey-soul’ vein, think Mississippi delta and you got it. Backing singers complete that gospel /soul vibe. Red River starts like it could be JJ Cale, a southern-soaked cajun feel to the keys and percussion. And that voice!….I love this one.
Wasp Weather has Eddie spitting out words in a fuzzy/distorted manner while a southern blues honky-tonk tune languidly rolls by. Great atmosphere. Truckee is an acoustic folky number, gentle, pastoral, floaty lead and slide licks, nice harmonies, nice song (Truckee being the Truckee river in California). Tides is a wistful rootsy ballad, echoing vocals and harmonies, subdued keys and great percussion overtaken by a chewy chord progression.
Love You All The Way Down is another slow, soulful blues number, Eddie’s voice in great form. He’s written another intriguing arrangement for Chamber of Reflection, this features a heavy emphasis on a slow brass section, sparse snare drums, punchy bass. The last track is The Road To Nowhere, a shuddering, tremolo-drenched country lament with a voice that is SO redolent of Elvis.
So…. This latest album takes us all over the (southern soul) musical and emotional map, and I have to confess that some of it isn’t my personal cup of tea. But the guy’s voice is awesome, and his arrangements are cleverly “retro-timeless” whilst using the spaces between notes to their max. For mew, the strongest track on the album is the opener – so here’s the video / “official audio” for it!
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