Released on what would've been
Jeff Healey
's 50th birthday,
Heal My Soul
is the first collection of unheard original
Healey
material released in 15 years. These recordings were left incomplete at the time of
's death, so it was up to his estate to complete the tapes, and the efforts are relatively seamless: it all sounds like it dates from somewhere in the early 2000s, a period arriving after his hits but before he started exploring hot jazz. In other words, it's guitar-heavy blues-rock, where the songs are sometimes nicely constructed ("Baby Blue," "I Misunderstood") but sometimes feel like vehicles for tasty licks. Because
isn't around to spin out more of these tasty licks, there's value to this -- his solos and riffs are vibrant, elastic, and alive -- but the record is best understood as a testament to his talent assembled by family for his fans to cherish. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine