Bluff City Backsliders member and Handy 3 leader Mark Lemhouse steps out on his own for his striking debut, "Big Lonesome Radio."

Judging from the efforts, his onetime home of Memphis has rubbed off in appreciable ways. That the Oregon-based Lemhouse lets perfection slip through the cracks is a good thing. Not too precise to be stiff, nor too loose to be clumsy, the guitarist/singer offers up blues re-creations that capture the essence of the originals: music that's about feel and fun.

He covers such country-blues heroes as Tampa Red, Charley Patton and Yank Rachell with an energy and love of the music that holds its own. And he sings them well to boot. You'll find little that's affected here.

Not everything is acoustic. Lemhouse turns Fred McDowell's What's the Matter with Papa's Little Angel Child into an electric boogie more worthy of McDowell's understudy, R. L. Burnside, who also inspires the rave-up treatment of Tom Waits's No One Can Forgive Me But My Baby.

As you've just surmised, Lemhouse convincingly breaks free of the revivalist pack by taking on nontraditional material, including some of his own. Among his originals are a tasty tango, Jealous Moon, and a noir-ish waltz, Edwin's Lament. The best thing on the disc is actually a faithful version of the Charlie Feathers hepcat classic One Hand Loose.

A great backing cast lends an assured hand, including fellow Backsliders Clint Wagner, Michael Graber, Jason Freeman and Scott Bomar, who wonderfully produced this release as well. The result, made locally at Easley-McCain Studios, compares favorably to the Backsliders' own impressive debut, which came out a few months back.

I've been waiting for an acoustic blues scene to sweep the city that made the jug bands an indispensable part of blues lore. Lemhouse and his Backsliders may be just the ones to tap that thing.

Lemhouse performs solo at 1:45 p.m., followed by a 4:45 p.m. set with the Backsliders, today at the King Biscuit Blues Festival. He then teams with Scott Bomar in an 11:30 a.m. show Tuesday at the Center for Southern Folklore, and he has a CD release party at 10 p.m. Thursday at the Hi-Tone.