Cost of Living [Digipak] (CD - 2005)

Personnel: Delbert McClinton (vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica); Delbert McClinton; Tom Hambridge (vocals, percussion); Bekka Bramlett (vocals, background vocals); Crystal Talifaro, Jeffrey Steele (vocals); James Pennebaker (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, steel guitar, fiddle); Gary Nicholson (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Al Anderson (acoustic guitar); Stuart Duncan (fiddle); Jim Hoke (saxophone); Steve Mackey (bass instrument); Spencer Campbell (acoustic bass, double bass, electric bass, bass guitar); Bill Campbell (guitar); Rob McNelley (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Don Wise (saxophone); Kevin McKendree (piano, organ); Lynn Williams (drums).

Audio Mixer: Ray Kennedy.

Recording information: Fearless Recording, Nashville, TN (03/08/2004-02/08/2005); The Sound Emporium, Nashville, TN (03/08/2004-02/08/2005).

Photographer: Michael "Mick" Wilson.

Cost of Living continues the astonishing run of Delbert McClinton recordings that have come along since the mid-'90s. While some would argue that McClinton has always been consistent, Cost of Living ranks up there with Keeper of the Flame, Plain from the Heart, and Jealous Kind. This set contains 13 tunes, the majority of which McClinton either wrote or co-wrote with old mates including Gary Nicholson, Glen Clark, and Al Anderson. The sounds here are tough, gritty Texas rhythm & blues, hard honky tonk blues, slippery acoustic country, and killer funky white boy Southern soul. While there isn't a weak tune in the bunch, there are some standouts, such as the streetwise stroll of "The Part I Like the Best"; the David Parker/Manuel Villa swamp R&B of "I'll Change My Style"; the utterly spooky tale of robbery and tragedy "Down into Mexico," and the ripped-heart ballads "Kiss Her Once for Me" and "Your Memory, Me, and the Blues." There's also the rollicking wide-open rocker "Dead Wrong." The sheer intensity and acumen of McClinton's delivery on these songs takes his reputation as one of the great R&B singers to an entirely new shelf. For McClinton fans, this will be a major cause to celebrate, for the uninitiated, this is as fine a place as any to start. It's authentic, full of heart, and so deep it's fathomless. ~ Thom Jurek

Texas blues-rock hero Delbert McClinton sounds remarkably energized on this 2005 album--not bad for a guy whose genre-blending career extends back to the late 1950s. COST OF LIVING features McClinton's distinctively twangy takes on blues, rock, and R&B, as best showcased on the witty, rollicking opener, "One of the Fortunate Few," and the pleading "I'll Change My Style"--which could serve as a tongue-in-cheek anthem for his own subtly shifting aesthetic.

McClinton's good-natured humor is also evident on plenty of other tunes, including "The Part I Like Best," an innuendo-filled barnstormer, and the Randy Newman-like narrative "Hammerhead Stew." The consistent quality of the material here makes this one of the husky-voiced performer's finest offerings in years. minimize