35 years down the road, countless thousands of reviews and literally millions of words on the subject, and I am quite used to being out of step with many others, but I must admit I was perturbed to see this was one of the finalists in the 2023 Grammy’s in the ‘Best Contemporary Instrumental Album’ category where it lost out to Snarky Puppy and their ‘Empire Central’. I mean, this is clever and all, and includes notable guests such as Randy Brecker, Robben Ford and Joe Bonamassa, but it has been polished and produced within an inch of its life and consequently it is just plain boring. True, there is undoubtedly some very nice playing, but all the heart and soul has been ripped out of it, no matter how much fun the guys were having in the studio being able to record with real people post lockdowns.
I have always preferred my blues to be much rougher around the edges, and this clinical release consequently does nothing for me whatsoever. It is so middle of the road that it is creating a rut where the white line is supposed to be, and I just cannot get excited about this whatsoever. I guess this is why I am never asked to sit on judging panels as I will just disagree with everyone, but the Grammy judges saw far more in this than I did so if this style of modern cleansed blues is your style, then give it a listen. As for me, I think I need some Lightnin’ Hopkins to wash my ears out.
Rating: 6/10
