The second full-length from sacred steel genius Robert Randolph & the Family Band delivers, from the studio, the same promise, grit, grease, and sweat that Live at the Wetlands did. Randolph pulls out the stops in the studio, using his own band, without any of the hotshot guest stars who he's appeared with in the last two years. Unclassified features a road-tested, studio-savvy band using all of its collected gifts with producer Jim Scott to make a record that is as much about soul, {\fun...   [ read more ]

CD $11.38

Sacred steel guitar seems tied in spirit and substance to its gospel piano counterpart: Both instruments encourage harmony-based performance, yet in the church context each emphasizes the dramatic gesture instead. This is especially true when performed live, as church music by definition tends to be. On this set, Randolph generates an enormous amount of heat. Much of his solo on the opening cut, "Ted's Jam," boils down to little more than a single note played repeatedly; other passages feature qui...   [ read more ]

CD $11.38

Those who became aware of Robert Randolph's considerable musical gifts on either the awesome Live at the Wetlands or on the underrated Unclassified are in for a surprise. Colorblind expands the Robert Randolph & the Family Band's palette -- on tape anyway, they've been doing stuff like this on the stage for years -- stretching out from the blues ledge into gospelized, gritty funk and soul, and expanding those genres in the process. Using a group of producers from cut to cut, {$the F...   [ read more ]

CD $13.28