Perhaps it was playing with Buddy Miles as a young man that prepared Karp to make such an authentic & upbeat blues sound in this posthumous release. It packs the triple threat of unique vocal styling, killer guitar and a red hot band (Joe Meo’s sax could cut steel, ditto for the soul divas on backing vocals). Combined, the sound is as soulful & funky as the old bar picture on the CD cover. Of note too is the genuine delivery they produce on a wide variety of styles from the country inspired track #1 to the gospel influenced #11 (which is so moving that one reviewer wondered if he knew his end was near when he recorded it). If you at all dig country, blues or americana, this disk is for you. RIP Mr. Karp.

RIYL: Nathaniel Rateliff, California Honeydrops, St Paul and the Broken Bones

***1 Runnin' Back To You - bouncy country blues with nice horns (med, 4:41)
***2 I Haven't Heard From You - syncopated, smokey soul sound with great back vocals (slow, 3:41)
***3 The Blame - uptempo ballad with nice banjo accents (fast, 4:34)
4 Without You - soul ballad lamenting loss of a SO (med, 3:38)
5 I Want To Hold Your Hand - gritty Tom Wait's style cover of the the fab four (med, 2:39)
*6 Sure Thing - mellow ballad (slow, 4:12)
**7 That's Life - down home cover of this Kay & Gordon classic (med, 3:40)
***8 Train To Nashville - soulful ballad with JJ Cale like feel (med, 4:23)
*9 I Want It All - soulful de to the working man great horns (med, 4:26)
*10 Show Me The Money - funky road house blues with talk/sing duet with Carole Sylvan (fast, 3:24)
***11 The Lighthouse - beautiful song of redemption with killer break (med, 4:57)

Listen at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjitADMllq0&list=PLVEsMrvpJM7vzTYNAhlDNc-BfnKBrOmcU