Bernard Allison - Across The Water (2000)

With Bernard Allison following the North Mississippi Allstars and Susan Tedeschi onto its roster, Tone-Cool has become home to the blues' most exciting young talents. Like his dad, the late Chicago guitar hero Luther Allison, Bernard likes to mix his music with rock and soul. This CD starts with a burst of uptempo funk ("The River's Rising") and quickly passes through six-string metallurgy ("I Just Came Back to Say Goodbye," with it's ZZ Top rhythmic bedrock and squealing guitar), Johnny Taylor-style ballads (like the Malaco-perfect "Work It Out"), and other permutations. Although Allison's voice possesses a serviceable simplicity, it's his guitar that really sings, chorus after chorus packed with keening wah-wah and daredevil bends. It's also full of down-to-the-bone blues runs, like the solo that tags the funky "Higher Love." Allison shows some Texas sting, too, especially on a Stevie Ray-style guitar epic called "I've Been Down," which should produce fireworks live. --Ted Drozdowski