Laugh

Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Keller Williams isn't a performer whose music is easy to fit into a cookie-cutter category. He has a style all his own and doesn't seem to mind if others have trouble placing a label on it. That strategy must be working for him, since he has completed half a dozen full-length offerings for his fans. If one tries to categorize Williams' music they might call it a mixture of styles: a little bluegrass, a little reggae, a little jazz, a little funk, and more than a few dashes of jam band, all stirred into something he loves to share. Maybe a taste for the latter comes from working on recordings with the jam band String Cheese Incident. Williams does have a band of his own that features drummer and percussionist Dave Watts and bassist Tye North. The songs on this album, Laugh, have some interesting titles that might prepare listeners ahead of time for Williams' often tongue-in-cheek type of lyrics. A few of the tracks on this album are "God Is My Palm Pilot," "Freeker by the Speaker," "Kidney in a Cooler," "Alligator Alley," and "Bob Rules." The last offering on this album is "Freeker Reprise," a 16-minute jam session. ~ Charlotte Dillon