Curtis Salgado may have provided the blueprint for Jake and Elwood Blues, but he has never been a one-dimensional artist. The veteran bluesman has done time with Robert Cray, Santana and Roomful Of Blues, and his 2012 album Soul Shot earned Salgado multiple Blues Music Awards. Thus you’d think that following up Soul Shot would be difficult, but Salgado has delivered a career-best album here.
Each of the original songs is built around Salgado’s rich, emotional vocals. He gets his Delta groove on with I Know A Good Thing, assisted by Johnny Lee Schell’s fiery guitar licks. Is There Something I Should Know is a bluesy duet with Danielle Schnebelen while Simple Enough, with dub vocalist Tippa Lee, is a masterful melding of blues and reggae. Eclectic, yes, but never less than soulful.
