Album Reviews

It always seemed as if there was a great recording lurking under the glaze of the original 1994 CD release. Finally, 14 years later Pure Pleasure gives us an answer: yes! Wow is there a great recording here on Keb' Mo's audacious, country/blues/soul debut.

The nextgen Taj Mahal delivers a rollicking set of crisp, good humored, powerfully delivered originals and collaborations, punctuated by two Robert Johnson covers (arranged and performed with uncharacteristic aggression and drive), managing to simultaneousy sound modern and authentic.

The gorgeous ballad “Anybody Seen My Girl” awaits a cover by some “big hat” country star. Some of the more conventional country/blues numbers emanate from what sounds like the Piedmont style that Doug MacLeod covered so well on his albums for AudioQuest (also in need of reissuing) and elsewhere.

The band provides crisp backdrops with bassist James “Hutch” Hutchinson and drummer Laval Belle locked in tight. Keb’ Mo’s picking is equally crisp and clean.

The LP reissue creams the original CD by country miles, removing layers of glaze and unlocking the rhythmic swagger missing in action on the CD. Three dimensional depth is restored, there’s a nice ambience surrounding Keb’ Mo’s voice that’s hidden on the CD and the whole thing just comes to life and puts you in the room with the band—something you can bet the CD fails to do.

Even if you’ve been listening to this on CD since 1994, you’ve never really heard it until you hear it on this ultra-dynamic LP reissue, which can at times sound a bit crisp and bright (though with a fabulously deep and tight bottom end), but that’s no doubt what’s on the tape. After all this was 1994, which was not exactly the age of great recordings, but this one's an exception.