If the blues is to survive and flourish, it will be because of artists like John 'J.B.' Bigham, aka the Soul of John Black.

A testament to the strength of African American music and the undeniable influence of the blues... Bigham's anguished wail will grab your gut and turn it inside out.

Smooth soul, swamp blues and hip-hop beats meld, the resulting sound at once sublime and raw, modern and somehow ancient, haunting and transcendent. The album is destined to cause a stir and likely to end up on many critics' best-of-the-year lists.

Just might be the freshest sounding blues album of this new century... a fusion of blues, hip-hop, and gospel (including a small choir) that has some greasy slide guitar slathered on over the top and even some record-scratching down low.

Goes straight to the roots of American music, paying a shrewdly contemporary tribute to the likes of Leadbelly, John Lee Hooker, and Muddy Waters.

Traverses a shape-shifting world where the futuristic dreams of Muddy Waters commingle with soul's aphrodisiac tendencies, the crash of rock, and a beat bounce of hip-hop... cavernous grooves, and flickering guitars -- acoustic, electric, sludged and slidden.

One of the year’s most ambitious, sophisticated and thoroughly individualistic projects... explores, illuminates, deconstructs and reinvents the blues.

Bigham has taken the blues and has not only put a fresh coat of paint on them, but he’s also done some impressive remodeling to the structure as well by adding elements of hip-hop, gospel, and funk to the mix, while leaving the foundation solidly in place...

The Soul of John Black sometimes sound as if they're channeling the same ancestral ghosts as Otis Taylor... both embraces and transcends the blues tradition.

Equal parts Prince, Al Green and John Lee Hooker, Bigham references gospel, field hollers, juke joints and Stax... Alternately sexy, lively and darkly intense, he brings a fresh, unpretentious persona to a genre desperately in need of a face-lift.

This expertly and perfectly crafted blues rock record is one of the best listens of the year...

Achieves a real-right surreality, blending blaxploitation, black water and Blue Velvet... Working mainly in haunted blues but dipping freely into other harmonic honeypots, Bigham sings the love, lust and lamentations of a complicated cat: himself.

Does nothing less than give the Blues a much needed transplant...

Delves into soul and blues with a striking blend of rootsy pungency and urban polish... it's a sound that comes across as both old and new.

Takes place at the crossroads where soul, blues, swamp and African-American folk music mingle to produce a sound that's primal and modern, streetwise and sophisticated.

All hail one of the new faces of soul… his fusion of soul and blues sounds new, even as it harkens back to the classic feel of past styles.

Any blues lover, whether traditional or modern style suits your taste, should check this out, because it's all here... Bigham has got creativity to burn.

Bigham ingests the blues and spits it back with his own signature on it... Raw, real and ruthless, JB bangs out the dirty, gritty blues and sucker punches the listener with an old school Southern musical beat down.

The case may say blues, but your booty will hear hip-hop... “Good Girl” is just the kind of album that could bring the blues to a wider audience.

It's blues for a new generation, crafted by a mature spirit who is adept at acoustic, electric, and slide guitars as well as soulful singing... Bigham and his crew are at the forefront of a small but (one can hope) potent movement that's bringing blues up to date without sacrificing authenticity.

I remember all the static Bruce Iglauer got when he moved Alligator from Hound Dog Taylor to Delbert McClinton in recognition that you have to keep moving and Yellow Dog might be in line for the same static as well. Wonderful stuff for young, proto-blues fans that don’t get what the old stuff is about but do know there’s something going on they want to get closer to. Killer stuff.

Old school funk rock meets up with a soulful, hiphop, Afrobeat sound and with acoustic, electric & slide guitar and exceptional songwriting, the mix is masterful.

A modern, soulful spin on blues music...

This album is an absolute must own for anyone who thinks talented blues musicians possessing silky smooth singing voices, capable of infusing incredibly original songs with R&B, soul, and funk are extinct.

Traditional Southern blues, Memphis blues, R&B, gospel; it's all there, and it's all very, very good.

Bigham augments the blues with grooving beats and synth bleeps, not as gimmicks, but as accents—the spotlight remains on his soulful singing and acoustic guitars. Really good stuff.

Takes a lot of the old and mixes it up with the new and throws in a little funk, a lot of soul and even a tiny bit of hip-hop flavor...

Has given the genre a fresh coat of energy and a sublime edging of other influences...

This is hot Gospel sex moan music... one of the best records I've heard in a LONG time.

Damn this is wicked! For those of you who delight in the blues, groove to old-school soul or are simply tired of the crunk, check out the The Soul of John Black.

The CD is marked by Bigham's spare but exquisite guitars, equal amounts of electric slide and acoustic rhythm that frame each track...

One of the better albums of the year... anyone who can dig a good soul/blues style record needs to pick up The Good Girl Blues.

Spare funk and hip-hop grooves, acoustic and electric blues guitar, the odd DJ cuts and backup soul singers here and there...

Explores the blues' many variations while deftly connecting it with more modern sounds...

The record is no mere recitation of blues classics... Bigham’s production modernizes things with funky beats and ambient electronica.

Citing not just Hendrix, but Albert King and Lonnie Brooks along the way, Bigham utilized road-tested Studebaker technology to barnstorm the rhythmic countryside with promised-land aspirations...