Customer Reviews
Too Smooth for Blues 
2006-11-13
Keb' Mo' came on the scene as a breath of fresh air for the blues. But, as his albums and output progress, it appears that he has elected to adopt a smooth, polished style that will turn-off many blues purists, who prefer the grit and pain of traditional blues. So, if you and yours are fans of Kenny G, Grover Washington Junior, Boney James, etc., then this stuff is for you. Oversimplified, safe, and at times quite boring. There are a handful of semi-precious gems on this album, including "I Was Wrong," "Henry," and "Rainmaker;" and the HDCD encoding allows for exception sound quality. Overall this is a nice, safe, happy, blues disc that lacks a certain something. But, if you need a present for Xmas, your mother would love to put this in rotation for her next Bookclub meeting.
I'm Hooked 
2006-09-01
I saw Keb Mo for the first time on a rerun of Austin City Limits. He was playing the song from this CD - "As Soon As I Get Paid". On the strength of that song alone, I went out and bought the CD the next day. It did not disappoint. I've been playing it over and over for months now. Keb Mo's is a consumate guitar player, song writer and story teller. Do yourself a favor, go out and buy this CD, grab a cold beer and enjoy some great blues.
Keb Mo Slow Down 2006-03-22
This CD is fantastic. Every song is wonderful. I bought one as a gift for a friend and I have other friends requesting copies. I never get tired of listening to it.
Is there any style of Blues Keb Mo' CAN'T play?!? 2005-09-24
WOW! This CD totally blew me away; I've loved the blues since I was twelve, listening to nighttime DJ Jimmy Rabbit on KLIF in Dallas playin' Jimmy Reed's "Bright Lights, Big City" more than 40 yrs ago, but when I heard this, it was like I was hearing the blues for the first time. Motown, Memphis, Mississippi delta, it's all here, and it's all GOOD. This is the kind of CD you can put on repeat and never get tired of it!
Too Modern For Me 2005-07-17
Keb Mo is a wonderfull talent. But this album is not his best works. Unfortunately it is a very modern sounding CD. Seems like Keb lost his traditonal roots on this CD. Slowly doing away with the Delta slide, and importing more of he "electrified" side of the blues.
It would be nice if these talented artits wouldn't let money get in the way of their true talent. I know there are alot of fans out there who love the traditonal Delta sound.
I am hooked! 2003-04-17
Guitarist and vocalist Keb' Mo' seems to be continuing in the direction suggested by his previous album,
Just Like You, with this release. That is to say, mixed in with the country-blues style that dominated his self-titled debut are elements of soul, R&B, and rock (the opening "Muddy Water" sounds, in Keb' Mo's hands, a great deal like the Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Woman"). When this works, as it does on
Slow Down's title track, it works very, very well. Some of the ballads, though, sound a little bland, and when the album returns to the tight, rock-inflected "Soon As I Get Paid" or the funky "A Letter to Tracy," it's refreshing. The real treats, however, come late in the album. With "Love in Vain" and "God Trying to Get Your Attention," Mo' gets down to the roots, and the sheer simplicity of the closing "I'm Telling You Now" is nothing short of beautiful, allowing Mo's considerable talent as a singer and guitarist to shine through. --
Genevieve Williams
ONE OF THE BEST BLUES ALBUMS EVER! 2003-02-17
After seeing Keb' Mo' at various blues concerts over the last few years I finally got enough determination to buy several (3) of his CD's simultaneously at Amazon.com. This was- by far!- the best of all three. In short, this album is a virtual flawless blues expression capturing the full range of Keb's multiple ablilities.
The vocals are extremely soulful on a level that can be compared to Muddy Waters. And they seemed to be recorded more "up front" then the other Keb' Mo' CD's I bought having exceptional clarity and intonations. The music tracks recorded quality seems to be above the other 2 as well. They are more mature and complex with weaves of slide guitar with accordians, harmonica's, banjos, mandolins and back up vocals totally complimenting and underlining this unique blues artist's intrinsic musical abilities. On this CD his acoustic guitar is played with more pronounced deliberate rhythms as well.
I can not stop listening to this album for the last week playing it several times a day. I feel so darn priveledge to being living at the same time as this artist. It's like all young blues fans out there get another chance to experience the likes of a seasoned blues master like a Muddy Waters and Johnny Lee Hooker (who may have never had a chance appreciated them while they were still living).
Being a blues fan for over 20 years and having over 200 blues CD's I can confidentaly say that on this album all the ingredients seem to come together to put Keb Mo on a plane of those great blues masters. You got to buy this! Its not only the best Keb' Mo' album I've heard -it's definitely in the top 5 of all my blues CD's. Period. (2/2003)
Easy-listening studio pop-blues (if that's what you want) 2003-02-16
I listened to this album with no previous exposure to, or information about the artist. I just figured it was soloist Louisiana blues, and gave it a try.
I was quite disappointed. It's not that there is something glaringly wrong about the album - indeed, the production quality is quite nice - but it is simply too plain. Clear voice, clear playing, simple lyrics...it's just not interesting after a couple of songs.
When I think about Blues, I think of a music that not only touches the soul, but wrangles with it. In that sense, this album is purely auditory. And although I don't listen to blues for its words, Keb Mo's lyrics often get disturbintly banal.
If you want some background ambiance that may convince your naive friends that you're into non-mainstream genres, this album could work for you. If you want music that doesn't insult your attention span and that hits even deeper than emotions, look elsewhere.
Speaking of that last sentence, it's hard to describe how good it felt to put on some Tom Waits after turning off this album....
Another Great One From Keb' Mo' 2002-11-16
Keb' Mo' is one of my favorite new Blues artists. He's proven during the past few years that he can play Delta Blues with the best of them while maintaining a level of production quality that is enviable. He can add acoustic style Blues to urban beats and sound equally well in both at the same time. he has immense musical integrity.
this recording is a shining example of what Keb' Mo' can do. The Cd contains mostly original compositions with a smattering of classic Blues. He sounds great on both, playing guitar and harmonica like one of the greats from the old days. His singing is fresh, yet never sounds out of place.
keb' Mo' proves that Blues has a future, that it can hang onto it's roots, yet still remain fresh and vital. I definitely recommend this album.
The blues has a great future with this man 2002-03-15
When I first picked this CD up, I hadnt heard any of his music I had only read a review about it and gave it a chance. SLOW DOWN by KEB' MO' is a great mix of country blues with some traditional blues that all fit perfectly well together here. The first time I listened to it, I was totally blown away. KEB has that soulful sounding voice that proves that if he wasnt singing the blues, he would be a great R&B or gospel singer. The musicianship on this album is top-notch. MUDDY WATER, I WAS WRONG, HENRY, SOON AS I GET PAID and A BETTER MAN are songs that the listener will enjoy and should give a listen to. The other gem on this album is his version of the Robert Johnson classic LOVE IN VAIN. On this song it is just KEB, his voice and an acostic guitar. I highly recommend to everyone to run and out by this album, you will not be disappointed.
