It’s pretty clear from the opening notes of Oli Brown‘s Heads I Win Tails You Lose (Ruf Records) that the British blues rocker’s latest album is another win-win for the artist and his fans.
Back with his fresh, vibrant sound and accomplished guitar, Brown kicks off the follow-up to his 2008 Open Road with the frantic-paced “Evil Soul” (imagine “Got My Mojo Workin'” on steroids) before moving into the shuffling sounds of “Makes Me Wonder.” A rocking version of the popular R&B standard “Fever” is fiery enough to set it apart from the countless other covers of the song you’ve heard, and Brown does an equally nice job showing his more sensitive side on the quieter “Not a Word I Say” and the slow grooves of “I Can Make Your Day.”
In addition to the album’s emotion-laden vocals and admirable riffs, listeners will also hear plenty of funk on songs like “Keeping My Options Open,” “No Diggity,” a hopping “Take a Look Back,” and the soulful “Real Good Time” with its smooth backing vocals, which also nicely complement the brisk rapping vocals of the closing “On Top of the World.” While there’s lots of great stuff to hear on this one, the two best tracks have to be a Matt Schofield-sounding “Speechless” and the slow blues scorcher “Love’s Gone Cold.”
Word around the campfire is that Oli will be making a return trip to the U.S. in the coming months, and it delights us to note that he now has two great albums from which to draw during his shows.