Album Essentials: Keb' Mo' "Keb' Mo'"
By Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor
Back in 1980, the music landscape was full of all sorts of sounds from punk to post-punk to new wave, disco hangover, heavy metal, roots rock, you name it. It was into that landscape that the debut album by Kevin Moore, 'Rainmaker,' landed. Released on the Parliament related label, Chocolate City (a division of Casablanca), the album went nowhere! Moore's follow-up wouldn't arrive until the middle of the following decade.
Moore was busy as a session player and songwriter, so his return to the spotlight took a while, and when it happened, the world found a new blues hero in a guy called Keb' Mo', a distillation of his proper name. Moore had already been in the business a while at this point, most notably playing with fellow musical traveler Papa John Creach. He played on several LP's by Creach, and co-wrote some songs with him. Of those songs, one, 'Git Fiddler,' ended up on the million selling album 'Red Octopus,' by Jefferson Starship, a band Creach also played with at the time.
By the time the 90s were at his doorstep, he had a decision to make. He had studied electronics for a year, and was hired for an entry-level job with Roland Electronics, however, after a serious self-examination, he never reported for work, and decided it was a life of music he was meant for after all. So, in 1994, Moore, or Keb'Mo' was ready to start anew. He signed to Epic Records, who released his debut offering, in June of 1994, on the blues imprint O'Keh,' a classic label from the past. It wasn’t long after its release that the critics started raving about this 'new' talent on the scene. In addition to 11 original compositions on the earthy blues album, Mo’ included two songs by the blues legend of them all, Robert Johnson. Having been playing guitar since the age of 12, learned on a 1963 Silvertone acoustic from Sears, Mo’ had by this point developed his less is more style.
“I found lots of it that was clever and wasn’t hard to do,” he told Blues Blast magazine. “It was just gettin’ in there and findin’ a part that works – and play it well. I had no desire to go out and rip it – although I appreciate what folks like that do.” He claimed his most significant influence was the great Taj Mahal, who he saw in concert as a teenager. Though he had a solid grasp on the roots and history of the blues, his 1994 LP was a very contemporary work. Coincidence, or something in the water, the Keb' Mo' LP hit stores a few months after the classic, much revered 'American Recordings' from Johnny Cash. It was the right album at the right time.
All Music Guide called it an "edgy, ambitious collection of gritty country blues," stating that "Keb' Mo' pushes into new directions, without losing touch of the tradition that makes the blues the breathing, vital art form it is. His gutsy guitar playing and impassioned vocals, as well as his surprisingly accomplished songwriting, make Keb' Mo' a debut to cherish."
The album helped Keb' Mo' develop an audience which has seen him through a career well into its fourth decade, carrying with him several Grammy Awards, high numbers on the blues charts, and a well-respected body of work. There is something timeless about the 1994 album that rings very true 30 years after its release. Enjoy!