Being named after blues legend Eric Clapton, Vince Vanguard (birth name, Eric Plein) was destined to be musical. His first concert was BB King, which lit a blues fire in Vince Vanguard; he resonated with the "Blues music's idea of the struggle of the spirit, and letting those feelings out." His family singalongs also inspired him, eventually finding his place in rock bands from high school but constantly feeling timid about his songwriting. Instead, he created and owned a recording studio and ran his own production company. While his musical dreams were right under his nose, it was not until he discovered he did not need alcohol to access his feelings that he finally controlled his life and truly learned how to open up within his songwriting.
Finally, Vince Vanguard knew he had to create a record, and in 2022 he released Spirit Blues. The album traverses the journey of addiction while the lyrics remain universal. Vince covers a lot of ground within this body of work, from a historical Southern rock track, "Levon Jackson," dabbling in social commentary with "Broken Bones" to "Samsara," explaining a concept within Buddhism. Spirit Blues is a transformative record for Vince, and Vanguard explains that his record was a therapeutic experience for him, "I needed to get these songs off my chest to break ties with my past. Now, I feel like I can move on."
Just last week, Vince Vanguard released a live acoustic performance of the fifth track off Spirit Blues, "Let Me Go," recorded at Hangar Studio in Laurel, Maryland. With only vocals and acoustic guitar, the recording is a raw and intimate presentation of the track. The song's lyricism shines and appears even more poignant as he sings the memorable chorus, "Could I be blind/Lift this veil and help me see/ The truth in all of this pain and suffering." The "Let Me Go" live acoustic version is a vulnerable unveiling of the track. Vince Vanguard's emotion is palpable. You may even feel like you're in the room while he's performing to an audience of just you.
LONG STORY SHORT: Spirit Blues is a great listen inspired by the classic rock and the blues musically but also takes you on a journey to what Vince describes as a "well-thought-out song sequence that speaks to a dark victory." And it's a worthwhile trip. Most importantly, you don't want to miss his live performance of "Let Me Go"! His lyricism will make you feel deeply, and his nonchalant acoustic chops will make you want to listen to the rest of the record ASAP.
Stream Spirit Blues below!
Credits:
Music and Lyrics: Vince Vanguard (Eric Vincent Plein)
Produced: Eric Vincent Plein & Chris Wright at Violet Recording Studio in Boulder, CO
Vocals, Guitar: Vince Vanguard
Piano: Chantil Dukart
Bass Guitar: Kirwan Brown
Drums: Jonny Jyemo
Pedal Steel: Scott Spanbauer
Violin: Brune Macary
Cello: Kari Clifton