2009-10-23
This album feels like an emotional joy-ride; stealing his feelings for an hour or so, just to drive around with them. It's an impressively solid debut album. The liner notes say it's like a "soundtrack to [his] career." I can agree to that, the main thing holding these songs together is guy who wrote them; the songs on this album have a range of styles. I didn't mind. From the danceable bebop of “Upswing”, to the folk-poppy “On the Skids”, to the near-gospel style of “Shine a Light,” to the purely instrumental jazz of “Sinner Street” and “Prisoner of Love”, to the Latin-based sound of “Screeching Halt”, Carpenter pulls off every style of music he tossed on here, with excellent musicianship. Let's hope this first isn't also his last solo effort. Recommends: ( 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9 ) ~ Chris ThomasOMAR KENT DYKES WITH JIMMIE VAUGHAN
ON THE JIMMY REED HIGHWAY
Rick "LA" Holmstrom
Late in the Night
THE DEREK TRUCKS BAND
ROADSONGS
Big James and the Chicago Playboys
The Big Payback
FIONA BOYES
BLUES WOMAN
Various Artists
Soulsville Sings Hitsviile
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