The Soul of John Black

John Bigham describes the music on his band's new album as "country funk," and from its roiling grooves to his moaning vocals and vamping fretwork, the claim certainly qualifies as truth in advertising. The overriding sensibility here, though, at least as far as storytelling and attitude go, is all blues.

The title track, for example, has roots in the classic outlaw ballad "Stagger Lee." "Last Forever" is old-school, down-home blues, featuring Bigham on bottleneck slide guitar. Leaving very little to the imagination, "White Dress" is a juking toast to a sexy woman in the spirit of those that Muddy Waters and Son House used to sing.

"Betty Jean," the album's first single, also extols the virtues of an unforgettable woman -- in this case, Betty Davis, the fiery soul singer and second wife of the great Miles Davis. Bigham played guitar in the latter's band for a while. He also worked sessions with Fishbone, Eminem, Dr. Dre and Nikka Costa, far-reaching associations that are evident in much of the music on "Black John."

Incantatory funk choruses abound, while "I Knew a Lady" gets a lift from a propulsive go-go beat, and mid-tempo workouts like "Better Babe" and "Push Into the Night" veer in the direction of rock. For all its grit and groove, though -- the arrangements on a couple of tracks here hint at the freakadelic soul of Gnarls Barkley -- the record ends with a pair of sublime ballads, the second of them, "Thinking About You," graced with lilting filigrees of West African-style guitar.

“Black John” (Eclecto Groove) is the third record from the Soul of John Black, which is the sole proprietorship of the singer and songwriter John Bigham. Bigham, who played guitar and percussion for Miles Davis in the jazz great’s final years, went on to join the ska-funk outfit Fishbone and has served as a sideman and arranger for artists as diverse as Dr. Dre and Bruce Hornsby. The John Black project has careered from wildly eclectic funk (on its self-titled 2003 début) to more straightforward blues (on its sophomore album, “The Good Girl Blues”). Here, Bigham delivers a dozen mash notes to sixties and seventies soul music, sometimes going heavy (“Betty Jean,” a tribute to the gonzo funk legend Betty Davis), sometimes going light (the arcadian, acoustic “Thinking About You”).

John Bigham, lead singer/guitarist of the Soul of John Black, freely admits his act's new "Black John" was inspired by the blaxploitation film "J.D.'s Revenge," but that doesn't negate the artistry of the release.

Bigham and company fully embrace the kitschy context of the film genre, but "Black John" is deliciously cheesy, a far more engaging interpretation of life on the streets than typical gangsta-rap shlock.

In fact, it's flavorful enough to be consumed a la carte, separate from corny blaxploitation associations.

Although Bigham warns, "You play with knives and you're gonna get cut," on the title-track opener, the earthy R&B/funk arrangement gives a celebratory feel to the ostensibly violent message.

Elsewhere, Bigham explores his lusty side, obsessing via the refrain, "white dress, black drawers," on the swampy, organ-laced "White Dress" and driving his hormones through lines such as, "A hot cup of coffee, can you please lay some sugar on me?" on "Betty Jean."

Also, he may keep his pimp hand strong (at least figuratively) with the droll, clip-clopping "Bottom Chick," but he's a softer touch in the melancholy, glowing aura of "Holiday Inn," the sweet, acoustic-guitar-framed "Thinking About You" and the dirty-blues "Last Forever," where he ruefully sings, "Like a bad cell phone, she liked to roam."

"Black John" may be a concept album based on a B-movie, but the deft execution and smoldering atmosphere are top rate.

These tracks do cook...TSOJB have created a distinctive collection of polished, very hip tunes.

Whole new brand of soul…amazing.

The acoustic serenade “Time(Losing My Mind)” sends a hundred magic fingers down your spine.

The Soul of John Black uncovers a stripped bare but solid little band fusing soul, blues-rock and hip-hop flavas. A+

Takes place at the crossroads where soul, blues, swamp and African-American folk music mingle to produce a sound that's primal and modern, streetwise and sophisticated.

This expertly and perfectly crafted blues rock record is one of the best listens of the year...

It's blues for a new generation, crafted by a mature spirit who is adept at acoustic, electric, and slide guitars as well as soulful singing... Bigham and his crew are at the forefront of a small but (one can hope) potent movement that's bringing blues up to date without sacrificing authenticity.

Achieves a real-right surreality, blending blaxploitation, black water and Blue Velvet... Working mainly in haunted blues but dipping freely into other harmonic honeypots, Bigham sings the love, lust and lamentations of a complicated cat: himself.

Goes straight to the roots of American music, paying a shrewdly contemporary tribute to the likes of Leadbelly, John Lee Hooker, and Muddy Waters

A testament to the strength of African American music and the undeniable influence of the blues... Bigham's anguished wail will grab your gut and turn it inside out.

The Soul of John Black sometimes sound as if they're channeling the same ancestral ghosts as Otis Taylor... both embraces and transcends the blues tradition.

Soul music sounds so strong played on acoustic guitars, it’s a shame more artists don’t take advantage of it. The Soul of John Black plays it for all it’s worth.

…very tight band brings the sweetly old-school funk-rock with that kinda rare relaxed feel…there’s something countrified about it all, like they can’t be bothered to heed the trends. Pure pleasure.

Former Fishbone member finds a whole new brand of soul the Soul of John Black, the amazing creation of former Fishbone multi-instrumentalist John Bigham begins with a broad conception of soul. Instead of standard R&B loops, Bigham uses expansive, far-reaching melodies and rockish backing to tell his stories -- which include several odes to beautiful women, a breakup song about being "trapped inside the burning wreckage of your status symbol" and, on the Stevie Wonder-ish "The Bridge," the challenge of "I tried to build a bridge over my pain." Where conventional soul-music wisdom says the beats must kill, Bigham lays down a tense, minimal rhythm and then concentrate on the rest of the framework: elaborate, strummed acoustic guitars that give way to groaning, distortion-heavy electrics; and loose gospel harmonies that inspire the dazzling ad-libbed vocal outbursts found on "Scandalous (No. 9)," the tormented "Honey" and the album's aptly named highlight, the smoldering, Afrobeat-tinged "Supa Killa."

This hip-hop/soul/jam-rock fusion outfit colors every shade of it’s songs right inside the lines, so the thrill is in the zesty precision of the group’s playing.

At times as edgy as some of the hardest rap, at times as musically experimental and rocking as Hendrix.

This debut is a crisp,confident collection of soul,hip hop and rock that's redefined by right between the eyes vocals and guitar as well as,superb musicianship.