Fo'Reel - Heavy Water (2014) [FLAC]

Calling themselves a New Orleans “supergroup” may be a bit of a misnomer: Fo’ Reel’s four main members are veterans of the local music scene, session-men mostly, with Dr. John and Nevilles and Allmans credits under their belts, and singer C.P. Love cut a side with Malaco during their “Groove Me/Mr. Big Stuff” salad days, but a NOLA big-band blues outfit without a steady drummer seems a little less than all-star on paper.

On record, happily, this flexible quartet is as tight as any outfit you’ll see on stage, opting for a smooth West Coast-blues style that emphasizes jazz improv over barroom bravado. Former Bryan Lee and Mark Chaz guitarist Mark Domizio, whose brainchild this appears to be, is the secret weapon, providing excellent counterpoint to Love’s controlled Delta-soul boasts as Johnny Neel fills in the cracks with swells of Hammond B3. They definitely prefer to keep the groove low and hot, letting the sex, romance and ultimate betrayal simmer rather than explode with the usual electric-blues fireworks.

Thanks to their collective pedigree, Fo’ Reel has more soul than most outfits of their stripe, which is why their version of “Breaking up Somebody’s Home” splits the difference between Ann Peebles’ and Albert King’s take and why Luther Allison’s “What’s Going on in My Home” would sit comfortably on a soul-blues playlist right next to Denise LaSalle’s “What’s Going on in My House.” (They also do a fine job on a Luther song of more recent vintage, reinforcing the gospel foundation of “Just As I Am.”) When Love steps out, these guys don’t lose their feel, either—the two instrumentals are boss, especially one called “Gate” that, with its Texas twang and light swing, could only be a tribute to the late, great Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown. Urban blues with a downhome feel, West Coast smooth jazz with a bite, Heavy Water is a nice alternative to what usually passes for blues, jazz or soul these days—impressive, since it changed drummers and cities as it was recorded. Fo’ Reel might achieve super status yet.

—Robert Fontenot, Offbeat Magazine, August 2014