Keb' Mo' - Slown Down 1998
Blues
Guitarist and vocalist Keb' Mo' seems to be continuing in the direction suggested by his previous album, Just Like You, with this release. That is to say, mixed in with the country-blues style that dominated his self-titled debut are elements of soul, R&B, and rock (the opening "Muddy Water" sounds, in Keb' Mo's hands, a great deal like the Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Woman"). When this works, as it does on Slow Down's title track, it works very, very well. Some of the ballads, though, sound a little bland, and when the album returns to the tight, rock-inflected "Soon As I Get Paid" or the funky "A Letter to Tracy," it's refreshing. The real treats, however, come late in the album. With "Love in Vain" and "God Trying to Get Your Attention," Mo' gets down to the roots, and the sheer simplicity of the closing "I'm Telling You Now" is nothing short of beautiful, allowing Mo's considerable talent as a singer and guitarist to shine through.
By Genevieve Williams. AMG
**
SLOW DOWN won the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album.
Let's dispel a common misconception right off the bat; Keb Mo is not a blues singer. To call him one would be as limiting as calling Lyle Lovett a country singer. He's got his finger in too many musical pies to be tied down to one tradition. As SLOW DOWN makes plain, his songs are certainly bluesy, but like Taj Mahal, he takes the style an mingles it with so many others that a new paradigm is created.
Keb Mo's snappy, soulful acoustic guitar is the central element of most of the tunes here, but there's everything from funk to R&B to '70s-sounding rock-pop at work in these songs. As a composer, Keb Mo knows how to get down to the basics of human emotions and trials without lapsing into cliche, and his no-nonsense vocal delivery communicates his message effectively. Blues traditionalists may not get what they've been led to expect from SLOW DOWN, but if they've got butts and feet, they won't be able to keep 'em still.
From CD Universe.
**
Keb' Mo'- (Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica);
Colin Linden- (Guitar, Mandolin);
Anders Osborne- (Guitar, Background Vocals);
Joellen Friedkin- (Accordion, Keyboards, Synthesizers);
Gerald Albright- (Tenor Sax);
Reggie Young- (Trombone);
John Lewis Parker- (Keyboards, Samples);
John Barnes- (Keyboards);
Reggie McBride- (Bass);
Laval Belle- (Drums);
Munyungo Jackson- (Percussion);
Sir Harry Bowens, Sweet Pea Atkinson, Lisa Linson- (background Vocals).
**
01. Muddy Water 4:23
02. I Was Wrong 4:20
03. Everything I Need 3:55
04. Henry 5:19
05. Soon As I Get Paid 4:38
06. A Better Man 5:15
07. I Don't Know 4:12
08. A Letter To Tracy 4:08
09. Slow Down 4:51
10. Rainmaker 4:15
11. Love In Vain 3:05
12. God Trying To Get Your Attention 4:06
13. I'm Telling You Now 2:38
**
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