DELBERT MCCLINTON
Room to Breathe (New West)
Reviewed by Eric Steiner

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When I ranked Delbert McClinton's 2001 New West debut, Nothing Personal, as one of my favorite CDs of that year, I never dreamed he could top that disc. Well, in comparing Nothing Personal with Room to Breathe, ol' Delbert's just done it. Nothing Personal took home the Grammy for 2001's Best Contemporary Blues Album, and Room to Breathe is another stellar collection of the wit, rhyme and fancy that's uniquely Delbert McClinton. Delbert gets pretty funky in the Jungle Room, but my favorites on this disc include the bluesy "Same Kind of Crazy" and the wistful "New York City." Room to Breathe firmly establishes Delbert in New West Records' firmament of stars that include John Hiatt and the Flatlanders, and these musicians truly have found a home in a label that hails from two ends of America's musical spectrum, Austin and Los Angeles. Delbert can travel from the country-tinged sounds of Texas to Los Angeles' blues and back, and I'm glad we're along for the ride.

Track List:

Same Kind of Crazy * Smooth Talk * Jungle Room * Everything I Know * About the Blues * Blues About You * Lone Star Blues * The Rub * Won't Be Me * Don't Want to Love You * Ain't Lost Nothin' * Money Honey * New York City

© 2003 - Eric Steiner