Slow Down (CD - 1998)

Personnel: Keb' Mo' (vocals, guitar, harmonica); Colin Linden (guitar, mandolin); Anders Osborne (guitar, background vocals); Joellen Friedkin (accordion, keyboards, synthesizers); Gerald Albright (tenor saxophone); Reggie Young (trombone); John Lewis Parker (keyboards, samples); John Barnes (keyboards); Reggie McBride (bass); Laval Belle (drums); Munyungo Jackson (percussion); Sir Harry Bowens, Sweet Pea Atkinson, Lisa Linson (background vocals).

Producers: Keb' Mo', John Lewis Parker, Chuck Trammell.

All tracks have been digitally mastered using HDCD technology.

SLOW DOWN won the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album.

This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.

Personnel: Keb' Mo' (vocals, guitar, harmonica); Colin Linden (guitar, mandolin); Anders Osborne (guitar, background vocals); Joellen R. Friedkin (accordion, keyboards, synthesizer); Gerald Albright (tenor saxophone); John Lewis Parker (keyboards, sampler); John Barnes (keyboards); Laval Belle (drums); Munyungo Jackson (percussion); Sir Harry Bowens, Sweet Pea Atkinson (background vocals).

Audio Mixer: Ross Hogarth.

Recording information: House Of Blues West; Rumbo Recorders.

At the beginning of his career, Keb' Mo' appeared to be a clever update of the acoustic bluesman, one that managed to recall country-blues but offer a contemporary spin on tradition -- sort of like a '90s version of Taj Mahal. With each new album, however, it became clear that authenticity was not a concept that troubled Keb' Mo'. He was more concerned with offering a nice, smooth bluesy pop that was perfect for the House of Blues, not for seedy roadhouse. That's not necessarily a bad thing -- it's just the kind of thing that would irritate blues purists who may have placed hope in him in the first place. Slow Down, Mo's third album, will nevertheless be the kind of album that will please listeners who like laid-back, polished blues, not gritty Chicago or Delta blues. Approaching Slow Down with this knowledge is helpful, since it isn't a bad album -- it's well-constructed and professionally performed, emphasizing Keb' Mo's ability to craft good, slick blues-rock. If you like that sound -- the sound of post-Robert Cray blues, with no trace of Stevie Ray Vaughan pyrotechnics -- Slow Down may be just your pace. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Let's dispel a common misconception right off the bat; Keb Mo is not a blues singer. To call him one would be as limiting as calling Lyle Lovett a country singer. He's got his finger in too many musical pies to be tied down to one tradition. As SLOW DOWN makes plain, his songs are certainly bluesy, but like Taj Mahal, he takes the style an mingles it with so many others that a new paradigm is created.

Keb Mo's snappy, soulful acoustic guitar is the central element of most of the tunes here, but there's everything from funk to R&B to '70s-sounding rock-pop at work in these songs. As a composer, Keb Mo knows how to get down to the basics of human emotions and trials without lapsing into cliche, and his no-nonsense vocal delivery communicates his message effectively. Blues traditionalists may not get what they've been led to expect from SLOW DOWN, but if they've got butts and feet, they won't be able to keep 'em still. minimize