Royal Blue is the first Alligator release from Koko Taylor since 1993′s Grammy nominated Force of Nature. This is a mainly up-tempo set with excellent support from several guest appearances by B.B. King, Johnny Johnson, Ken Saydak, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd who contributes some scorching guitar on the Melissa Ethridge-penned hit “Bring Me Some Water.” Taylor not only co-produced this release but wrote four of the 12 tracks, including the acoustic “The Man Next Door.” On this track, the combination of Koko’s passionate voice with Keb Mo’s gritty Delta slide guitar makes you wish she would move further in this direction on future releases. Royal Blue proves Koko Taylor is still the undisputed queen of the blues. – Al Campbell