by James Chrispell

Canadian blues guitarist Colin James turns in a fine set of both original and cover material. Paring back the sound of his previous effort to the basic guitar, bass and drums, James uses horns and keyboards to color and accentuate certain tracks rather than overwhelm. He works his blues magic on such covers as Robert Johnson's "Walkin' Blues" and Jerry Lynn Williams' "Standing on the Edge of Love" while proving his own songwriting capabilities on cuts like "Freedom" and "Better Days." A great return to form.