Artist:     Keb’ Mo’

Album:     Oklahoma

Label:     Concord Records

Release Date:     6.13.2019

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On his last outing back in 2017 with veteran bluesman Taj Mahal, Keb’ Mo’ deservedly picked up a Grammy for the album TajMo. No newcomer to the Grammy process, that marked his eleventh nomination and fourth win. Of course, when you set your own personal music bar so high on a regular, seemingly never-ending basis, expectations tend to run feverishly high. And, thankfully for us all, this guy can deliver the goods.

With his latest offering, Oklahoma, Mo’ again turns out a truly superb performance with his delightful, mellow vocals and fine fretwork always to the fore while his song-writing skills remain as sharp as a tack. In other words, we could well be looking at his twelfth Grammy nomination if not yet another award.

Joined once more on a few tracks by his old guitar-toting buddy Taj Mahal, the pace is also picked up and perked up by the addition of Americana star Rosanne Cash leading the fun on a song that will please many, “Put a Woman in Charge,” while his wife, Robbie Brooks Moore adds her voice to the mix. When Nashville sessionman, guitarist and song-writer, Colin Linden, steps into the production shoes, and steel-guitar wizard Robert Randolph also lends a hand, the result is a near-inevitable winner guaranteed.

The ten tracks here contain clearly politicized thoughts, social considerations and a sharp eye bent on observing and chronicling the problems faced by many across the globe. That Mo’ has the confidence and heart to cover these issues in song is more than simply admirable, it carries on a fundamental streak of liberalism, a tradition rooted in much of the USA’s cultural songbook.

—Iain Patience