Mississippi Number One

Aficionados of Mississippi-style blues and boogaloo will recognize Eden Brent's big smile, her honey-and-whiskey voice, and her riotously virtuosic piano playing. They'll also wonder why it took her so long to come out with a solo album. And indeed, this one feels like it was a long time coming — Brent is all over the place, stylistically speaking, as if she's been stocking up on songs and genres, and she sounds equally confident on rockers like the self-penned title track and the rollicking, ebullient kiss-off "Close the Door" as she does on the torchy "Love Me 'Til Dawn," on her stride piano interpretation of "Careless Love," and the Memphis-flavored soul strut of "Meet You Anywhere." Her grainy but lovely voice is shown off at its best on the sparest arrangements, in particular the joyful "Fried Chicken," which finds her accompanied only by acoustic guitar and harmonica. The closest thing to a low point on this album is her curiously flat and unconvincing take on the jazz standard "The Man I Love," which she seems to be singing about a man she kind of likes, but not in that way. Otherwise, Mississippi Number One is a consistently brilliant and joyful romp, one that makes you want badly to see her perform live. Highly recommended.