The Door

by Keb' Mo

Overview

Keb' Mo''s self-titled first album, from its Robert Johnson covers to its appearance on a resuscitated Okeh Records, seemed to suggest the arrival of a Delta blues traditionalist, even though the former Kevin Moore was really a Los Angeles native who had kicked around the music business for years playing various styles of music. The follow-up, Just Like You, was therefore a disappointment to blues purists, since it clearly used folk-blues as a basis to create adult contemporary pop in the Bonnie Raitt mold. But to the music industry, that was just fine, since it fostered the hope that here was an artist (finally!) who could find a way to make the blues -- consistently revered but commercially dicey -- pay, and Keb' Mo' won a Best Contemporary Blues Album Grammy for his effort. Slow Down (1998) brought him a second Grammy and got even higher in the charts. The Door is more of the same. Keb' Mo''s slightly gritty voice and fingerpicking are the focus of the music, but he does not hesitate to add mainstream pop elements, beginning with writing partners who include Bobby McFerrin and Melissa Manchester, and continuing with a backup band that features such session aces as keyboard player Greg Phillinganes and drummer Jim Keltner. This is music that is folkish and bluesy rather than being actual folk-blues. Just in case anyone hasn't gotten the point yet, Keb' Mo' begins the album's sole cover, Elmore James' "It Hurts Me Too," in authentic folk-blues style, after which the arrangement lurches into a heavily percussive, anything but traditional direction. It's fair warning that the singer/guitarist is interested in tradition only as a jumping-off point. Maybe that's what "contemporary blues" is. ~ William Ruhlmann

Product Details

Release Date:	09/15/2023
Label:	Music On Cd
UPC:	8718627236017
Rank:	71396

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Keb' Mo'   Primary Artist,Vocals,Harmonica,Guitar
Leon Ware   Primary Artist,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Michael Davis   Trombone
Reggie McBride   Bass
Tommy Eyre   Synthesizer Strings
Lawrence Feldman   Sax (Alto),Sax (Tenor)
Sergio Gonzalez   Drums,Percussion
Thomas Tally   Viola
Steve Jordan   Drums,Percussion
Dennis Collins   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
David Mann   Sax (Tenor)
"Ready" Freddie Washington   Bass
Greg Leisz   Pedal Steel
Greg Phillinganes   Keyboards,Pedal Steel,Synthesizer,Guitar (Synthesizer)
Scarlet Rivera   Violin
James "D-Train" Williams   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Jim Keltner   Drums
Clayton Gibb   Banjo
Lew Soloff   Trumpet
Rob Mounsey   Conductor,Horn Conductor
Gerri Sutyak   Cello
Marva Hicks   Vocals,Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Keb' Mo'   Producer
Tommy Eyre   String Arrangements
Joel Zimmerman   Art Direction
Hans Leibert   Engineer
JoAnn Tominaga   Production Coordination
Jill Dell'Abate   Producer,Production Assistant,Additional Production
Art Smith   Guitar Technician
Michael Caplan   A&R
John Halpern   Photography
Tim Olmstead   Assistant Engineer
Jill D. Abate   Producer
Mark Johnson   Engineer
Kevin R. Moore   Composer
Ted Jensen   Mastering
Bill Lane   Assistant Engineer
Elmore James   Composer
Russ Titelman   Producer
Ryan Smith   Mixing,Mixing Assistant
John Boncimino   Management
Dave O'Donnell   Mixing,Engineer
John Lewis Parker   Composer
Rob Mounsey   Horn Arrangements
London   Composer
Jason Stasium   Assistant Engineer
Marshall Sehorn   Composer