![Keb' Mo' — Suitcase [October 6, 2005]](/obrazek/2/front-jpg-858/ "Keb' Mo' — Suitcase [October 6, 2005]")
Keb' Mo' — Suitcase
Location: South Los Angeles, CA
Album release: October 6, 2005 / Recorded: Shangri La Studio, Malibu, Ca & Stu Stu Studio, West Los Angeles, Ca
Record Label: EPIC/RED INK/SONY BMG MUSIC
Duration: 46:16
Tracks:
01. Your Love (4:18)
02. The Itch (4:56)
03. Eileen (6:31)
04. Remain Silent (4:42)
05. Still There For Me (3:11)
06. Rita (4:52)
07. I'm A Hero (4:45)
08. Suitcase (4:50)
09. Whole 'Nutha Thang (3:55)
10. I See Love (3:59)
11. I'll Be Your Water (3:14)
12. Life Is Beautiful (4:17)
Written by:
ο→ Keb' Mo' 1, 3, 5, 6, 11
ο→ Keb' Mo' / Jeff Paris 2
ο→ Keb' Mo' / Allan Rich 4
ο→ James Ingram / Keb' Mo' 7
ο→ Keb' Mo' / Jenny Yates 8
ο→ Mac Davis / Keb' Mo' 9
ο→ Josh Kelley / Keb' Mo'
ο→ Colin Linden / Keb' Mo' 12
℗ 2006 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
AWARDS:
Billboard Albums
♦ 2006 Suitcase The Billboard 200 #176
♦ 2006 Suitcase Top Blues Albums #1
♦ 2006 Suitcase Top Heatseekers #4
♦ 2006 Suitcase Top Independent Albums #11
♦ 2006 Suitcase Top Internet Albums #176
Album Review by Steve Leggett; Score: ***½
ο→ "On Suitcase, his eighth studio release, Keb' Mo' (Kevin Moore) reunites with John Porter, the producer of Moore's critically lauded first album, and the result is a pleasant, midtempo suite of songs dedicated to the emotional baggage everyone carries with them as they plow through increasingly complicated lives in search of peace, love, and some measure of personal redemption. Moore covers this ground with a wink and a grin in his voice, though, and Suitcase emerges as a wry commentary on modern life that still manages to sound bright and positive, beginning with the effervescent, sprung reggae rhythm of the opening track, "Your Love," one of the best cuts here. Other highlights include the lovely ballad, "Still There for Me," a celebration of the little man and his private victories, "I'm a Hero," and the soothing, hopeful shuffle that closes things out, "Life Is Beautiful." Moore is generally classified as a blues player, but the truth is, aside from his first album, he has actually done very little true blues material, and it is probably more accurate to call what he does blues–informed, but even that ignores the point that he is probably much closer in tone, theme, and feel to James Taylor than he is to Robert Johnson or any other blues figure. He does turn to the blues here, though, on the title track, "Suitcase," and morphs it into a wonderfully engaging song about what people bring into a romantic relationship and what they take away in the end, making full use of the "emotional baggage" connection inherent in the title. It is Keb' Mo' at his best, drawing on his ability to synthesize roots forms like the blues into completely contemporary commentaries on the struggles, travails, and blind faith in personal redemption that accompanies people as they slog their way daily ever deeper into the 21st century."
BIOGRAPHY — KEB’ MO’
ο→ Three–time Grammy winner and visionary roots–music storyteller Keb’ Mo’ embarks on a new chapter in his career with the April 22 release of BLUESAmericana on Kind of Blue Music. His twelfth full–length album marks the 20th anniversary of his debut Keb’ Mo’, but, more important, the disc is a signpost of artistic and personal growth.
* * *
ο→ At its core, the album is about love and understanding. Those qualities are expressed in some of the most poignant and joyfully melodic numbers Keb has ever recorded. Many of them, including the pledge of commitment “Do It Right” and the reflective “For Better Or Worse,” assay devotion and marriage. The thorny, comic “The Worst is Yet To Come” is about hope, despite the hilarious laundry list of pitfalls its protagonist endures as he searches for a silver lining. And “Somebody Hurt You” is, in Keb’s words, “where the blues meets the church.” That number features Rip Patton, a longtime friend and Civil Rights era Freedom Rider, on beatific bass vocals. “My first intention was to make a stripped–down acoustic album — just me and my guitar playing some songs. But” — Keb laughs — “I couldn’t do it! I love ensembles so much.”
ο→ Acoustic guitars do feature prominently in these arrangements, which boast plenty of textural flesh via electric and resonator slide guitars, mandolin, percussion, keyboards, reeds and horns, but still reveal the gorgeously chiseled architecture of their bare bones origins. The album was co–produced by Keb and his friend Casey Wasner, who’s an accomplished performer in his own right.
ο→ He’s no stranger to the stage and screen himself. Keb’s acting career began with an early ’90s Los Angeles production of Leslie Lee’s The Rabbit Foot. He portrayed Robert Johnson in the 1998 documentary Can’t You Hear the Wind Howl and appeared three times on the TV series Touched By An Angel. He also played the ghostly bluesman Possum in John Sayles’ 2007 movie Honeydripper.
ο→ But Keb stresses that his focus will always be on making music and being a communicator, a songwriter.
Website: http://www.kebmo.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kebmomusic
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kebmo
CREDITS:
ο→ Fran Banish Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), National Steel Guitar
ο→ David Bett Art Direction
ο→ John Boncimino Management
ο→ Vincent Bonham Vocals (Background)
ο→ Sir Harry Bowens Vocals (Background)
ο→ Michael Caplan A&R, Direction
ο→ Jon Cleary Organ (Hammond), Piano, Piano (Electric), Wurlitzer
ο→ Paulinho Da Costa Percussion
ο→ Mac Davis Composer
ο→ Jeff Dunas Photography
ο→ Kathleen Dyson Guitar (Leslie)
ο→ Steve Ferrone Drums
ο→ Sergio González Drums
ο→ James Ingram Composer, Vocals (Background)
ο→ Mark Johnson Engineer
ο→ Keb' Mo' Composer, Primary Artist
ο→ Josh Kelley Composer
ο→ Greg Leisz Pedal Steel
ο→ Darrell Leonard Trombone, Trombonium, Trumpet
ο→ Colin Linden Composer
ο→ Reggie McBride Bass, Bass (Upright)
ο→ Paul Oscher Harp
ο→ Jeff Paris Composer, Mandolin, Piano (Electric), Wurlitzer
ο→ Rik Pekkonen Engineer
ο→ John Porter Audio Production, Engineer, Mandolin, Mixing, Producer, Soloist
ο→ Allan Rich Composer
ο→ Pete Strobl Assistant Engineer
ο→ Joe Sublett Sax (Tenor)
ο→ Greg Tardy Clarinet
ο→ JoAnn Tominaga Music Coordinator, Production Coordination
ο→ Terry Wollman Guitar (Electric Baritone)
ο→ Jenny Yates Composer
____________________________________________________________
Location: South Los Angeles, CA
Album release: October 6, 2005 / Recorded: Shangri La Studio, Malibu, Ca & Stu Stu Studio, West Los Angeles, Ca
Record Label: EPIC/RED INK/SONY BMG MUSIC
Duration: 46:16
Tracks:
01. Your Love (4:18)
02. The Itch (4:56)
03. Eileen (6:31)
04. Remain Silent (4:42)
05. Still There For Me (3:11)
06. Rita (4:52)
07. I'm A Hero (4:45)
08. Suitcase (4:50)
09. Whole 'Nutha Thang (3:55)
10. I See Love (3:59)
11. I'll Be Your Water (3:14)
12. Life Is Beautiful (4:17)
Written by:
ο→ Keb' Mo' 1, 3, 5, 6, 11
ο→ Keb' Mo' / Jeff Paris 2
ο→ Keb' Mo' / Allan Rich 4
ο→ James Ingram / Keb' Mo' 7
ο→ Keb' Mo' / Jenny Yates 8
ο→ Mac Davis / Keb' Mo' 9
ο→ Josh Kelley / Keb' Mo'
ο→ Colin Linden / Keb' Mo' 12
℗ 2006 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
AWARDS:
Billboard Albums
♦ 2006 Suitcase The Billboard 200 #176
♦ 2006 Suitcase Top Blues Albums #1
♦ 2006 Suitcase Top Heatseekers #4
♦ 2006 Suitcase Top Independent Albums #11
♦ 2006 Suitcase Top Internet Albums #176
Album Review by Steve Leggett; Score: ***½
ο→ "On Suitcase, his eighth studio release, Keb' Mo' (Kevin Moore) reunites with John Porter, the producer of Moore's critically lauded first album, and the result is a pleasant, midtempo suite of songs dedicated to the emotional baggage everyone carries with them as they plow through increasingly complicated lives in search of peace, love, and some measure of personal redemption. Moore covers this ground with a wink and a grin in his voice, though, and Suitcase emerges as a wry commentary on modern life that still manages to sound bright and positive, beginning with the effervescent, sprung reggae rhythm of the opening track, "Your Love," one of the best cuts here. Other highlights include the lovely ballad, "Still There for Me," a celebration of the little man and his private victories, "I'm a Hero," and the soothing, hopeful shuffle that closes things out, "Life Is Beautiful." Moore is generally classified as a blues player, but the truth is, aside from his first album, he has actually done very little true blues material, and it is probably more accurate to call what he does blues–informed, but even that ignores the point that he is probably much closer in tone, theme, and feel to James Taylor than he is to Robert Johnson or any other blues figure. He does turn to the blues here, though, on the title track, "Suitcase," and morphs it into a wonderfully engaging song about what people bring into a romantic relationship and what they take away in the end, making full use of the "emotional baggage" connection inherent in the title. It is Keb' Mo' at his best, drawing on his ability to synthesize roots forms like the blues into completely contemporary commentaries on the struggles, travails, and blind faith in personal redemption that accompanies people as they slog their way daily ever deeper into the 21st century."
BIOGRAPHY — KEB’ MO’
ο→ Three–time Grammy winner and visionary roots–music storyteller Keb’ Mo’ embarks on a new chapter in his career with the April 22 release of BLUESAmericana on Kind of Blue Music. His twelfth full–length album marks the 20th anniversary of his debut Keb’ Mo’, but, more important, the disc is a signpost of artistic and personal growth.
* * *
ο→ At its core, the album is about love and understanding. Those qualities are expressed in some of the most poignant and joyfully melodic numbers Keb has ever recorded. Many of them, including the pledge of commitment “Do It Right” and the reflective “For Better Or Worse,” assay devotion and marriage. The thorny, comic “The Worst is Yet To Come” is about hope, despite the hilarious laundry list of pitfalls its protagonist endures as he searches for a silver lining. And “Somebody Hurt You” is, in Keb’s words, “where the blues meets the church.” That number features Rip Patton, a longtime friend and Civil Rights era Freedom Rider, on beatific bass vocals. “My first intention was to make a stripped–down acoustic album — just me and my guitar playing some songs. But” — Keb laughs — “I couldn’t do it! I love ensembles so much.”
ο→ Acoustic guitars do feature prominently in these arrangements, which boast plenty of textural flesh via electric and resonator slide guitars, mandolin, percussion, keyboards, reeds and horns, but still reveal the gorgeously chiseled architecture of their bare bones origins. The album was co–produced by Keb and his friend Casey Wasner, who’s an accomplished performer in his own right.
ο→ He’s no stranger to the stage and screen himself. Keb’s acting career began with an early ’90s Los Angeles production of Leslie Lee’s The Rabbit Foot. He portrayed Robert Johnson in the 1998 documentary Can’t You Hear the Wind Howl and appeared three times on the TV series Touched By An Angel. He also played the ghostly bluesman Possum in John Sayles’ 2007 movie Honeydripper.
ο→ But Keb stresses that his focus will always be on making music and being a communicator, a songwriter.
Website: http://www.kebmo.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kebmomusic
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kebmo
CREDITS:
ο→ Fran Banish Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), National Steel Guitar
ο→ David Bett Art Direction
ο→ John Boncimino Management
ο→ Vincent Bonham Vocals (Background)
ο→ Sir Harry Bowens Vocals (Background)
ο→ Michael Caplan A&R, Direction
ο→ Jon Cleary Organ (Hammond), Piano, Piano (Electric), Wurlitzer
ο→ Paulinho Da Costa Percussion
ο→ Mac Davis Composer
ο→ Jeff Dunas Photography
ο→ Kathleen Dyson Guitar (Leslie)
ο→ Steve Ferrone Drums
ο→ Sergio González Drums
ο→ James Ingram Composer, Vocals (Background)
ο→ Mark Johnson Engineer
ο→ Keb' Mo' Composer, Primary Artist
ο→ Josh Kelley Composer
ο→ Greg Leisz Pedal Steel
ο→ Darrell Leonard Trombone, Trombonium, Trumpet
ο→ Colin Linden Composer
ο→ Reggie McBride Bass, Bass (Upright)
ο→ Paul Oscher Harp
ο→ Jeff Paris Composer, Mandolin, Piano (Electric), Wurlitzer
ο→ Rik Pekkonen Engineer
ο→ John Porter Audio Production, Engineer, Mandolin, Mixing, Producer, Soloist
ο→ Allan Rich Composer
ο→ Pete Strobl Assistant Engineer
ο→ Joe Sublett Sax (Tenor)
ο→ Greg Tardy Clarinet
ο→ JoAnn Tominaga Music Coordinator, Production Coordination
ο→ Terry Wollman Guitar (Electric Baritone)
ο→ Jenny Yates Composer
____________________________________________________________