Keb Mo – Suitcase (Pure Pleasure)

But Moore tills this field with a twinkle in his eye and a smile in his voice, and "Suitcase" turns out to be an ironic commentary on modern life that still manages to sound joyful and affirming; this begins with the exuberant, bouncy reggae rhythm of the first song, "Your Love", one of the best tracks on this record. Other highlights include the delightful ballad "Still There For Me", a celebration of the little man and his personal victories, "I'm a Hero", and the soothing, hopeful shuffle that closes, "Life Is Beautiful".

Moore is generally pigeonholed as a blues musician, but in fact, apart from his first album, he has produced very little blues material and it might be more accurate to describe him as 'familiar with the blues', but even that ignores the fact that he is probably considerably closer in key, theme and feeling to James Taylor than to Robert Johnson or any other blues interpreter.

On the title track 'Suitcase', however, he turns to the blues and transforms it into a wonderfully engaging song about what brings people together in a romantic relationship and what they end up taking from it, making full use of the 'emotional baggage' association contained in the title. This is Keb' Mo' at his peak, making full use of his ability to synthesise primal roots like the blues into completely contemporary commentary that describes the struggles, travails and blind faith in personal redemption that accompanies people as they painstakingly fight their way deeper into the 21st century every day.