Oklahoma＜限定盤/Red Vinyl＞

Keb' Mo' named his 2019 album Oklahoma after the home state of Dara Tucker, the songwriter who co-wrote the title song with the veteran blues troubadour. Until that collaboration, Keb' Mo' planned to make an acoustic album, but "Oklahoma" opened the door to an expansive record that finds space for plenty of cameos (Rosanne Cash, Robert Randolph, and Taj Mahal all make appearances), not to mention understated protest. While the bluesman doesn't disguise his political songs -- the messages of "Put a Woman in Charge" and "Don't Throw It Away" are plain in their titles -- he does wrap them in the same cozy groove that characterizes the rest of the record. This isn't sugarcoating a poison pill so much as it is reflecting the easy, soulful gait Keb' Mo' has at this stage of his career. Keb' Mo' may not move quickly, yet he moves confidently, inhabiting the heartbreak of "This Is My Home" as thoroughly as he does the back-porch stomp of "Ridin' on a Train." While "Ridin' on a Train" isn't the only cut that wears its blues roots proudly -- "I Should've" is a wry catalog of regrets -- much of Oklahoma feels smooth and soulful, a sound that suits Keb' Mo' quite well. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

タジ・マハールとの連名作から2年ぶり、単独スタジオ作としては5年ぶりとなるモダン・アコースティック・ブルースの第一人者ケブ・モ新作。2013年のオクラホマ竜巻被害を目の当たりにしたことに端を発する本作はそこから様々なアメリカが抱える諸問題への眼差しや家族への想いまで描く。暖かなダウンホームを得手とするが今作ではそれがレベル・ソウルとも言える力強さへと転じている。豪華ゲストにローザンヌ・キャッシュ、ロバート・ランドルフ、タジ・マハール、そして愛妻ロビー。常連コリン・リンデンが今回はプロデュースも手掛けヴァラエティに富んだアメリカーナ作品に仕上がった。
intoxicate (C)片切真吾