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1. Ain’t Nothing Wrong With That
2. Deliver Me
3. Diane
4. Angels
5. Jesus Is Just Alright (feat. Eric Clapton)
6. Stronger (feat. Leela James)
7. Thrill Of It
8. Blessed
9. Love Is The Only Way (feat. Dave Matthews)
10. Thankful ’N Thoughtful
11. Homecoming

Total time: 44:25

Colorblind
Robert Randolph and the Family Band
Warner Bros.

Gone is the sacred steel. Gone is the joyful noise. Gone are the jams. Gone is the eclecticism.

That’s kind of the way Randolph’s sound has evolved, from being discovered at the Sacred Steel Convention, to the all-instrumental gospel project The Word, to the incredible concerts documented at archive.org and ultimately released on “Live at the Wetlands,” to the first studio album’s grab bag of styles.

Now comes the second studio album. The temptation to bring in guest performers has been succumbed to. The label-driven desire to have “regular” songs is apparent with the collaborative compositions. There even are mercenary drum programmers on board.

But guess what: It still cooks, in spite of the slick sheen applied to what basically remains a melting pot. And it’s not just a multitude of genres – most notably funk, rock and R&B – swirling around in an audio blender; there also are so many instrumental/vocal things going on in any one song that it’s a relentless assault on the senses.

The payoff is waiting, however, for thrill-seeking listeners willing to tough it out a few times around the block in order that they may peel back the layers. The pedal steel is there. Randolph just wants people to work a little more to find it this time.

external links
artist’s link
amazon.com
iTunes store

nov 2006 reviews