One of the elements that has always distinguished Keb\u2019 Mo\u2019s take on contemporary blues\u2014besides the craftsmanlike precision of his songwriting and the instant familiarity of his warm, friendly voice\u2014is the effortless way he moves between individual and social concerns. For every clever relationship song like \u201cFrance\u201d in the man\u2019s catalogue, there\u2019s an insightful song-with-an-agenda like \u201cJust Like You.\u201d And some of his very best meld the personal with the philosophical, as on the sharp, witty \u201cGod Trying to Get Your Attention\u201d and \u201cThe Old Me Better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tastefully produced by Colin Linden (The Band, Bruce Cockburn), Oklahoma<\/i> once again throws all of the above elements together into a rich, hearty stew of deeply American music, with notes of folk and pop and country and blues, this time spiced with a series of notable guest stars. Opener \u201cI Remember You\u201d is pure Keb\u2019, though, with sharply plucked acoustic guitar and looming Hammond organ pulsing steadily through a tune that essays the ways and reasons people leave each other, and the damage they leave behind. The title track then explores Oklahoma\u2019s rich and troubled history, weaving fine details into an energetic tune highlighted by a haunting solo from slide master Robert Randolph.<\/p>\n
Third track \u201cPut A Woman In Charge\u201d\u2014as in-your-face anthemic as the mostly easygoing Mo\u2019 ever gets\u2014was originally conceived as a standalone single, before he realized it would fit nicely in the mini-suite of social-concern songs that occupies the heart of this album. \u201cThe time has come, we\u2019ve got to turn this world around \/ Call the mothers, call the daughters, call the sisters of mercy now\u201d he sings as guest Roseanne Cash joins in, gradually turning the song into a full-fledged duet. It\u2019s not exactly subtle, but it definitely gets the point across.<\/p>\n
More delicate, more artful, and ultimately more effective is \u201cThis Is My Home,\u201d a character-driven acoustic ballad that weaves the stories of individual immigrants into a song about what it means to be a new American today. With accordion and superb harmony vocals from guest Jaci Velasquez adding beauty and pathos, the song wisely focuses on reaching hearts rather than heads. On its heels, \u201cDon\u2019t Throw It Away\u201d puts a playful Delta-blues spin on environmental concerns, with an assist from friend and recent collaborator Taj Mahal. <\/p>\n
Leaning to the folk-pop side of Mo\u2019s multifaceted musical persona, the gentle acoustic ballad \u201cThe Way I\u201d explores the impact of depression on a relationship. The mood then shifts abruptly as the foot-tapping, finger-snapping acoustic blues \u201cRidin\u2019 On A Train\u201d pounds down the tracks. The similarly upbeat \u201cI Should\u2019ve\u201d marries bright musical tones with a serious yet clever lyric about second-guessing every decision and wondering if maybe the grass is greener somewhere else. <\/p>\n
Rounding the final curve, the traditionalist she-done-me-wrong electric blues \u201cCold Outside\u201d delivers deep funk in the rhythm section as the cuckolded Mo\u2019 laments \u201cBaby it\u2019s cold outside \/ But I can\u2019t stay here.\u201d The mood does a one-eighty as Mo\u2019 closes the album out with a grit-free, borderline schmaltzy duet with his wife Robbie Brooks Moore (\u201cBeautiful Music\u201d) that ends in a hail of strings. It might have made a nice valentine, but I\u2019m not too sure what it\u2019s doing on this album. <\/p>\n
At this point in his career, a new album from Keb\u2019 Mo\u2019 feels like a visit with an old friend, a chance to slip back into comfortable rhythms and get down quickly to talking about the things that really matter. Oklahoma<\/i> is full of everything you\u2019ve ever loved about Keb\u2019 Mo\u2019: earthy charm, penetrating insights, and superb guitar playing from a genuine American treasure. It might not be a classic, but Oklahoma<\/i> fits snugly into Mo\u2019s catalog as a representation of what is on the man\u2019s mind in 2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":33827,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[7091],"rating":[5617],"class_list":["post-45649","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-keb-mo","rating-rating-b-plus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/45649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45649"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/45649\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=45649"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=45649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}