Martin Scorsese Presents Keb’ Mo’ [okey/epic]

Kevin Moore changed his name to Keb’ Mo’ as part of a cunning plan to pass himself off as your friendly neighbourhood designer blues legend complete with trademark fedora hat. But on this collection of 16 tracks of mostly original tunes culled from three previous albums, our Keb’ has clearly abandoned the backporch to straddle the middle of the road alongside fellow blues brethren like Eric Clapton and BB King.
While his efficient band really cooks on some tracks like his own ‘A Letter To Tracy’ and ‘Don’t Try To Explain’, and Robert Johnson’s ‘Come On In My Kitchen’, he does a more convincing solo version of that same legend’s ‘Love In Vain’. ‘Am I Wrong’ is mean and gritty too, but his own ‘Dirty Low Down And Bad’ is brimful of lyrical and musical clichés, while he sings ‘Don’t Try To Explain’ as if it’s a song he’s not that pushed about.
Keb’ Mo’s brand of buffed up delta blues crossbred with glossy MOR rock ultimately makes for bland, easy listening with most of whatever blues it once contained having been left on the floor of the editing suite. The album’s saving graces are, apart from some dependable musicianship, his warm baritone voice and the fluid guitar playing. But ultimately this is an album custom-made and tarted-up for people who think they like the blues but aren’t quite up to the real thing. Sometimes mo’ just ain’t enough.