Bringing It Back Home (LP)

Robben Ford's last studio effort, 2007's Truth, received a Grammy nomination for best contemporary blues album. Where that recording focused on his workmanlike songwriting skills and his prodigious guitar technique, Bringing It All Back Home highlights other aspects of his musical persona.

This is Ford putting on offer his considerable skills as a bandleader and song interpreter. There's not a lot of superpicker athleticism on display here, and there doesn't need to be. Backed a smoking band that includes organist Larry Goldings, drummer Harvey Mason, bassist David Pilch, and trombonist Stephen Baxter, Ford makes it look easy. On this series of mainly cover tunes, his modern blues is infused with his love of New Orleans' R&B throughout.

There is a precedent for Bringing It All Back Home: Lowell George's classic, Thanks, I'll Eat It Here. That album was misunderstood upon release because it downplayed the artist's slide guitar and songwriting chops to focus on his consummate skill as a singer. Ford has done something similar, yet offers his fans enough of his instrumental talent to balance the equation. - AllMusic