Give Me Back My Teeth

Florida guitar player Willie Lomax has a reverent appreciation for the history of the blues, and it shows on his debut release from his own Big Boss Records. Featuring the Delta rhythms of the great Sam Carr on drums, and solid vocals from James Peterson, Give Me Back My Teeth has a lean, gritty sound that combines Southern juke joint rawness with uptown Chicago blues to produce an album that is solid as bedrock. Highlights include the opener, “Where I’ve Been,” the wise and wistful “Way a Tree Falls,” the gutbucket “Razorback,” and the impressive 11-minute suite “Blues for Jackie Robinson,” which manages to be experimental without being disruptive to the overall tone and feel of the album. Lomax would add Shawn Brown on vocals for his next two albums, and move on to more Memphis soul territory, but this debut shows an impressive writer and player with a clear vision for what contemporary blues can be. – Steve Leggett