Eddie 9V ‎– Little Black Flies

20-01-2022

Eddie 9V has acted on instinct all his life. At the age of 15, this longtime soul artist turned away from the path of college and jobs to go all guns blazing on the roots and blues circuit of his native Atlanta, Georgia. Now, released in 2021, "Little Black Flies" is the 25-year-old's most impulsive move yet, which catches everything that went down at a session that felt more like a party. His real name turns out not to be Eddie 9V but Brooks Mason and born in 1996 in Atlanta. He got his first guitar at the age of six and his first band was the cover band Smokin Frogs and then the blues rock band The Georgia Flood with whom they took part in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis. By now he had built up a fairly well-known name and he changed his name to Eddie 9V for a solo career. Two albums followed: "Left my Soul in Memphis" (2019) and "Way Down The Alley" (2020). After this, he is picked up by Thomas Ruf and they record "Little Black Flies". Eddie loves to get the live sound and atmosphere on a CD, so it was all recorded live at Atlanta's Echo Deco Studios, with no overdubs. All songs, except three, which is stated in the record, were written by Eddie 9V and his producer Lane Kelly, who also plays bass guitar on four songs. The album opens with the heavy soul blues "Little Black Flies". It's more soul than blues and sounds great because of the horns, the female chorus and the clear voice of Eddie very suitable for soul music here. The lyrics are about a woman who is abused in the apartment above Eddie and the frustration and emotion burst out of the song. Then, after a short announcement to the band, as said everything was recorded live, a lovely old school Mississippi Blues follows with dobro intro 'She Got Some Money'. His voice sounds different, calm and a major role is played by Jackson Allen's jew's harp and Chad Mason's great piano playing. It has a nice groove through the rhythm section. It continues with the rock blues 'Dog Me Around' in which Eddie's guitar sounds sharp. It's a kind of honkytonk swing blues, nice. The rhythm section lays a fine foundation here again. In the slow blues 'Don't Come Around This House' there is a more 'talking' vocal. Guitar playing pointed (here shows the influence of Albert Collins and Albert King in his playing). Beautiful breaks and long sax tones characterize the song. Albert King's uptempo 'Travelin' Man' is without horns and the guitar has a shrill sound that is too shrill for me, but a beautifully played solo. Matter of taste. '3 AM in Chicago' is a great song. Beautiful, slow blues, beautiful vocals, riffs and rhythms. Here his voice is reminiscent of Fantastic Negro, also a singer who can do anything with his voice and Eddie can do that too. Top ! With a real soul intro 'Reach Into Your Heart' starts in which the vocals dominate, a quiet middle part with subdued guitar playing and a grooving rhythm behind it and then growing to the climax. Miss James by Stanley J Lewis/Sonny Thomson has a solid groove in which the jew's harp and piano get all the space they need. The beautiful 'Back On My Feet' is another great old-school blues, soft drums with the brushes, humming vocals, wonderful atmosphere. 'Puttin' My Kids To Bed' has its own shuffle style. Beautiful tones, organ, wah wah guitar. It is blissful to the ear. Everything in perfect balance. The penultimate track is the slow blues 'Columbus Zoo Blues'. You just have to listen. Very well. Talking vocals, plucking piano, quiet jew's harp solo. A top blues. The CD ends with a boogie in which the jew's harp dominates: 'You Don't Have To Go' in the style of Muddy Waters and Canned Heat. The guitar solo here is from second guitarist Cody Matlock. The song was written by James Matcher Reed. A fitting end to a great album !! What a fantastic album by Eddie 9V. Only 25 years and to make such a varied and intense album is very special. He sounds very mature and that he has a soul heart (Otis Redding) next to his blues heart (Freddie, Albert King) is obvious here. His unique voice that (once again) reminds me of two Grammy Award Winner, Fantastic Negrito, and just like that has a very own blues style. A must for people who want to listen to a blues album off the beaten track. Class album ! With "Little Black Flies", there's a sense of an artist coming full circle, and at the same time coming of age, the kid who once loitered outside the clubs of Atlanta now leading some of Georgia's greatest players into the studio. Indeed, these recordings gave much-needed catharsis to the musicians who created them. But perhaps Eddie's ultimate aim is to pass that spirit on to everyone who hears the record. "It makes my day to please someone after they work all day," he says. "My job is to make them smile and let the music make them forget, or remember."

1 Little Black Flies Songwriter [All Songs Written By] - Eddie 9V, Lane Kelly 3:15

2 She Got Some Money Songwriter [All Songs Written By] - Eddie 9V, Lane Kelly 3:04

3 Dog Me Around Songwriter [All Songs Written By] - Eddie 9V, Lane Kelly 2:58

4 Don't Come Around This House Songwriter [All Songs Written By] - Eddie 9V, Lane Kelly 6:08

5 Travelin' Man Written-By - Albert King 3:03

6 3AM In Chicago Songwriter [All Songs Written By] - Eddie 9V, Lane Kelly 3:39

7 Reach Into Your Heart Songwriter [All Songs Written By] - Eddie 9V, Lane Kelly 5:07

8 Miss James Written-By - Sonny Thompson, Stanley J. Lewis 4:08

9 Back On My Feet Songwriter [All Songs Written By] - Eddie 9V, Lane Kelly 3:24

10 Puttin' The Kids To Bed Songwriter [All Songs Written By] - Eddie 9V, Lane Kelly 3:43

11 Columbus Zoo Blues Songwriter [All Songs Written By] - Eddie 9V, Lane Kelly 5:07

12 You Don't Have To Go Written-By - James Matcher Reed 4:25

Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] - Mandi Stratchota (tracks : 1, 6)

Bass - Brandon Boone (tracks : 2, 7, 9, 11),Cody Matlock (track : 1), Lane Kelly (tracks : 4 to 6, 10), Marvin Mahanay (tracks : 3, 8, 12)

Blues Harp [Harp] - Jackson Allen (tracks : 3, 4, 8, 11, 12)

Drums - Aaron Hambrick (tracks : 2 to 12), Eddie 9V (track : 1)

Lead Guitar - Cody Matlock (track : 12), Eddie 9V (tracks : 1 to 11)

Organ, Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes] - Chad Mason

Rhythm Guitar - Cody Matlock (tracks : 2, 3, 5 to 8, 10, 11)

Saxophone - Sam Nelson (track : 1)

Vocals - Eddie 9V

Recorded at Echo Deco Studios (Atlanta, GA) September - November 2020