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Eugene 'Hideaway' Bridges - Man Without A Home - Armadillo
Another new album on Armadillo is Eugene 'Hideaway' Bridges, Man Without a Home. This writer is not familiar with Bridges, but this is apparently his second album, but he is among the younger blues-soul singer guitarists, and I suspect he is from around Memphis. Produced by Bridges with former DC Blues Society President Michael Roach, this is a terrific disc that merits wider exposure as he writes and sings about the heartaches and joys of the male-female relationship.
Bridges recounts how he Used to Sing Love Songs with bright brassy horns backing his vocals and clean, fleet guitar playing, but now all he sings is the blues, the rocking shuffle that opens this disc. If I was going to compare him to other bluesmen, I might suggest Bridges is a bit more vocally intense version of the late Mighty Joe Young or Fenton Robinson. One can hear more than a touch of Sam Cooke in his gospel-rooted singing. You're Gonna Miss Me is a walking tempo blues with a down-home groove, Bridges' declaration he is a Bluesman borrows a bit from the Isley Brothers' Fight the Power, while he takes the tempo into the alley on the slow blues where he feels so alone like a Man Without a Country, Man Without a Home.
Movin' and a Groovin' is one of two numbers associated with Sam Cooke, the other being the ballad I'm Fallin' In Love, and Bridges' vocals evoke the legendary soul giant. He is that good a singer. I'll skip the track by track analysis except to note that the band is really solid, Bridges' fluid fretwork is a delight throughout, and the horns add punch and musical coloring behind his powerful performances,
I believe I received a review CD from Armadillo, This review originally appeared in the June 2002 DC Blues Calendar, although I have made some minor edits to the original review. Amazon shows copies of this CD, new as well as used, as being available. It is available on streaming platforms. Here is Eugene 'Hideaway' Bridges performing.
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