NOLA-inflected R&B adorned
Robben Ford
's
Bringing It Back Home
in 2013, a collection of covers played by an all-star ensemble and highlighted by the guitar slinger's additional skills as an interpretive singer and arranger. When
Ford
began writing tunes for his follow-up he decided to lay them down in a way seldom employed these days: by recording the entire album in a single day.
convened a choice band -- guitarist
Audley Freed
, keyboardist
Ricky Peterson
, bassist
Brian Allen
, drummer
Wes Little
, and trombonist
Barry Green
-- at the storied Sound Kitchen Studio in Nashville, and set about recording a live record in a controlled environment. He wrote seven of the nine tunes here, and they walk the line between wonderfully contoured numbers that showcase his much improved singing skills and contemporary, soul-inflected blues. The contribution from
Green
adds another dimension to the band's sound. Yes, it is polished, but both production and mix are empathic; despite the overdubs, the group's live energy comes through. Opener "Green Grass Rainwater" is shuffling, Southern R&B with excellent guitar fills and vamps, spare, layered, punchy trombone, and swirling B-3. It also features one of
's best vocals here. "Ain't Drinking Beer No More," with its swinging combination of B-3 and 'bone, is a high point. "Midnight Comes Too Soon" is a more conventional, contemporary blues, with
's guitar in trademark minor-key sting. "Top Down Blues" is a funky instrumental, with
Allen
's bass leading the charge. The twinned guitars and trombone add strut and swagger before
solos. There are two choice covers here: the burning "Cut You Loose" (first recorded by
James Cotton
) provides canny interplay between the guitarists and
Peterson
,
Little
's driving drum in the back, and
's rolling bassline. "Poor Kelly Blues," written by
Maceo Merriweather
, is done Chicago style. Slippery chord voicings by
Freed
support
's taut fills as the rest of the band rave up in the turnarounds. At first, "Thump and Bump," an instrumental jazz tune, seems an odd choice; it isn't, because it's a solid band showcase that reveals what they are capable of. "Just Another Country Road" is a jazzy R&B number that perfectly bookends the opener, featuring the entire band swinging hard. It's got an excellent chart and fills by
, and it's the only place on the set that
really cuts loose.
A Day in Nashville
isn't raw, but it is immediate and soulful. It is the sound class musicians make when they simply get down to doing what they do best: playing together. ~ Thom Jurek