Nothing smacks of creative stasis like the veteran hawking the blues covers album, but Robben Ford has his reasons, having started out in 60s California with the Charles Ford Blues Band, before being sidetracked into jazz, pop and wingman fame.
Bringing It Back Home finds the guitar master blowing the dust off his teenage vinyl, and while that’s hardly a unique concept, Ford clearly had a collection that went beyond the usual Little Red Roosters.
The opening parp of Allen Toussaint’s Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky sets the tone, with Ford’s deadly fingers and fruity voice riding an unhurried groove, and he’s true to the song title for the duration. Meanwhile, Johnny Winter’s Trick Bag and Little Buddy Doyle’s Slick Caper Blues, in particular, will be prompting men who don’t dance to cut rugs and buck hips.
You suspect it’s an album Ford made for himself, but his nostalgia trip is well worth hopping onboard.
