Robert Randolph & The Family Band - Colorblind (2006)

Feel good music for feel good people. After loving the first two RR albums, I immediately bought this CD the week of its release. This album doesn't quite measure up to those two, but that would be a tough order to fill. No matter, this album has its share of great tracks. If it's possible to shred a pedal steel guitar, Randolph does so, and on every track (he even upstages Eric Clapton on track 5!). Lots of influence here from Mark Batson and Dave Matthews who had recently finished working together on Stand Up. I don't listen to this one as much as I should, probably because when I grab a RR CD from the shelves, I pick up one of the first two albums. Embarrassingly and inexplicably, I haven't purchased the Randolph albums released after this one. I should rectify that shortly.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #75

Tracks:  The stellar tracks here are Ain't Nothing Wrong With That, Deliver Me, and Thrill Of It. Also good are Diane, Stronger (featuring powerful vocals from Leela James), and Love Is The Only Way. I'll skip Angels, the humdrum rote cover of Jesus Is Just Alright, and Blessed.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD:  None, but I sure wish I had a concert story to go along with this one. I should rectify that shortly.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Unclassified (2003)
Live at The Wetlands (2002)

Robert Randolph & The Family Band - Unclassified (2003)

If this doesn't get you up and going in the morning, you need a new pacemaker. I've already professed my love/envy for this man and his music and this debut studio album is as intense as his debut live album. One of the most pleasing aspects of this album are the positive lyrics. Some gospel, some not, but all uplifting. How is this band still flying under the radar? Probably because of its amalgamation of genres; people like to pigeon-hole music and this mix of funk, blues, soul, jam band, gospel, pop, rock, R&B makes pigeon-holing difficult to do.

Music critic Thom Jurek has this to say about this CD: "This is multivalent music, full of the message of joy, passion, and realization, and it is played in such an enlightened manner, so completely unburdened by the rigidities of context and category, that it exists on its own plane." Think he likes it? (Yes, I had to look up the definition of 'multivalent' too.) Even at such a young age, Randolph was recently named to Rolling Stone's list of The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #145 (Aug 23, 2003)

Tracks: Going In The Right Direction, I Need More Love, Squeeze, Good Times (3 Stroke), and Run for Your Life are my favorites. That's 5 tracks out of 11 if you're counting. Other quality tracks include Nobody, Why Should I Feel Lonely, and the Santana-tinged Calypso. I don't care as much for the more popish track Soul Refreshing or the slower tracks like Smile and Problems, but that doesn't mean I skip them.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I bought this CD when I was doing graduate work at the University of Houston. From BC, it was a 90 minute commute each way at least 3 times a week. This CD got a lot of playing time on SH 288.

Robert Randolph and The Family Band - Live at The Wetlands (2002)

There are times when I wish I was Robert Randolph because he has musical talents I will never see. (I can also see myself playing Hammond B3 in his band.) You know a group is a fantastic live band when their first release is a live album. That takes moxie. I cannot imagine the energy it must take to get through a concert like the one on this disc as a listener, much less a performer. To borrow a phrase from Ken Kessler, this disc is more than an hour of "thigh-slapping, blood-pumping, nuclear brain damage!" High energy throughout. This easily earns a spot in my list of top ten live albums. How do you define this style? It is an amalgamation of rock, gospel, blues, country - it is truly American music.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: The Austin Chronicle summed it up in a ★★★½ review: "the boys open with 12 meltdown minutes of 'Ted's Jam' and never look back." There are seven tracks, only one of which clocks in at under 10 minutes. My favorite track on this disc is I Don't Know What You Come to Do. I've made the mistake of listening to this in my office and having to close the door for privacy because I can't sit still. Put this together with Shake Your Hips and Tears of Joy and you've got more than 35 minutes of an epic way to end a CD.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I discovered Robert Randolph through a Grammys performance in either 2004 or 2005 (probably the latter). I'm thankful his name was printed on the front of his guitar so I could immediately order his CD.