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The Good Girl Blues is one of those albums that will certainly be a guilty pleasure to most. With its mix of soul and blues, John Bigham and his group The Soul of John Black have created an extremely enjoyable album that combines older styles with newer ones. But while many releases in these two genres have only had one distinct style, this one mixes many different styles on each song. By not limiting his inspirations, Bigham has made one of the better albums of the year, even if 2007 is far from over.
As previously mentioned, each song on this release feels different from the last, both thematically and musically. Bigham is a very good songwriter, as he has written both serious tracks and those with a tinge of dark humor. The majority of The Good Girl Blues is composed using acoustic guitar, something that hasn't been used that often in soul music. In addition, the songs on this release transition between up-tempo and down-tempo quite frequently, which helps to avoid repetition. There honestly isn't a bad song on this album, and one can tell that quite a bit of work was put into each and every one.
But of course, a blues/soul album needs an excellent singer, and Bigham fills this role quite nicely. His voice is extremely likeable and never gets off key. This works well for music like this, as the music is somewhat sparse, leaving the singer to fill in the rest of the sound. There is one extremely well done instrumental track, but on every other track Bigham sings and showcases an impressive range and knack for tempo. No matter how fast a particular song is going, Bigham can match it, and that in itself is quite impressive.
Anyone who can dig a good soul/blues style record needs to pick up The Good Girl Blues. This is an album that just about anyone can groove to, and displays excellent songwriting and compositions. Acoustic style soul seems to be a relatively new thing in the industry, but The Soul of John Black could definitely be one of the frontrunners of the style. This new brand of soul is intriguing and enjoyable, and will hopefully make it onto many people's top album lists once 2007 eventually comes to an end.
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