KEB' MO'
Slow Down (Okeh/550 Music)
Rating: 6 out of 7
By John Quaintance 

   On his third album, Slow Down, acoustic blues singer/guitarist Keb' Mo' builds on the solid foundation established by his first two releases, both of which demonstrated a reverence for early acoustic blues and a knack for crafting gentle, hummable originals. (Think early Taj Mahal.)
   With Slow Down, Keb' Mo' adds an R&B sheen to the production that gives significantly more punch to his always pleasant songwriting.  This is one of the best blues releases of the year and should accomplish the tricky feat of satisfying his current fans while broadening his appeal. 
   Looking back, the artist's eponymous debut relied on an unadorned Robert Johnson sound that endeared him to purists, while the breakthrough follow-up Just Like You (which only featured a handful of acoustic numbers) earned him the 1996 Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album, in part because he was able to successfully incorporate his sound into a band format. 	
   With Slow Down, Keb' Mo's reverence for Johnson is still evident--he's the only artist whose covers have appeared on all three albums (a laid-back treatment of the Stones favorite "Love In Vain" is included here)--but these days, our modern bluesman is putting some distance between himself and the proverbial back porch. This is a decidedly more contemporary (and less treacly) album than either of Keb' Mo's previous releases, benefiting greatly from a more adventurous mix of settings. "I Was Wrong" and "Soon As I Get Paid" are as far uptown as he's ventured, while "I Don't Know," "A Letter To Tracy," and album stand-out "Better Man" cover territory explored by Eric Clapton and Tracy Chapman on recent blues-tinged efforts. His guitar work is light and loose, and his smooth baritone vocals work as effectively on the more soulful numbers as they do on his bread-and-butter ballads.