[rating=3.50]
Before the release of their new album, Bridge guitarist and singer Cris Jacobs said he wanted to release an album that, “makes a statement about who we {The Bridge} are musically.” Mission accomplished. Their new self-titled release completely captures the essence of the band, a band who exist at the crossroads where funk, bluegrass and soulful-bluesy rock meet. If the Meters and Stevie Ray Vaughn made love the result would be The Bridge.
The twelve tunes on the album each serve to sum up the personality of the band, from the hard rocking “Bad Locomotive,” the bluegrass bred “Chains,” the soul meets country gospel “Country Mile,, the funked-up “Shake’em Down” to the raging blues of “Brother Don’t.” Each song is a tiny peek into the heart and soul of the Bridge.
Jacobs says that despite being the band’s third release, “this one feels like our first real album,” as their first was basically a pumped up demo, and their second was an odd hodgepodge of studio and live tracks that never quite felt right. With its perfect blending of styles and diverse range of influences that stretch from an old-time backwoods jam, to the streets of New Orleans, through a dirt floor juke joint, to the heart of rock ’n’ roll, The Bridge is a collection of elegant Americana.
For any band that makes their living through their live shows, finding a balance between the studio and the stage is sometimes difficult. The Bridge, known for intense blistering live sets, straddle this tricky area on their new release and with the help of guests Russell Batiste (The funky Meters, PBS), Mookie Siegel (Phil Lesh & Friends, David Nelson Band), and John Ginty (Citizen Cope, Robert Randolph). The result is an album of tight, well-crafted songs that take flight just as they do live on stage. As each song takes flight, getting up and stretching their legs in the sometimes stuffy confines of an album, they come alive and make a strong statement about who this band is and why they need to be heard…now.
