It's been way too long since we've had a new album from Tad Robinson, which makes his latest, Soul in Blue (Delmark), fitting even more into the "long awaited" bucket. Six years to be exact since Real Street was out on Severn Records, earning Robinson nominations for best album at the Blues Music Awards.

The album title for this new set of tunes pretty much sums up Robinson's sound, as he's been one of the more successful singers to blend soul and blues in the past 20 years. Add the fact that he's also a strong blues harmonica player, and he presents a convincing argument to be regarded as one of the better performers on the scene today. The fact that he writes most of his material only strengthens his case.

Six of the ten cuts on Soul in Blue were recorded with Robinson's regular touring band, with special guests popping into the sessions when needed, while the other four numbers were put down with the esteemed bunch of Chicago cats billed as The Delmark All-Stars --- Roosevelt Purifoy Jr. (organ), Larry Williams (bass), Pooky Styx (drums), Carlos Showers (guitar), and Mike Wheeler (guitar). Robinson's regulars consist primarily of Kevin Anker (keyboards), Paul Holdman (guitar), Brian Yarde (drums), and David Murray (bass).

Now that the introductions have been made, let's get the show started with "Keep It In The Vault," a steady blues on which Robinson is complimenting that woman who has helped him for so many years, primarily for keeping his secrets safe. Finnish blues vet Tomi Leino joins the regular core of musicians with a strong guitar solo. That leads into a slow blues, "Out Of Sight And Out Of Mind," which gives guitarist Holdman and guest pianist Alberto Marsico plenty of room to solo. We also get a chance to hear a couple of mighty fine backing singers, Devin B Thompson and Lorie Smith.

We hear Robinson at his soulful best on the funky soul tune, "Somewhere There's A Train," as he waits for that train to bring his baby home, Marsico again comes in with a strong solo, but this time on the organ.

Let's go next to the four songs on which he's backed by The Delmark All-Stars. The upbeat, funky Memphis blues, "I'm Down To My Last Heartbreak," was originally a hit by Wilson Pickett, with Robinson's vocals emitting the pain in his breaking heart. Then Arthur Adams cover, "It's Private Tonight," is a slow soul tune that again gives Robinson the opportunity to pour out his emotions while Purifoy contributes a really good organ solo.

Robinson sticks to his own songs for the final two Delmark All-Star cuts, with the up-tempo blues "Keep Your Heart Open For Love" bringing in fellow Delmark artist Dave Specter on funky Memphis-style guitar, with Robinson's harmonica breaks playing off Specter's instrumental wizardry. The album closer, the slow soulful "This Time," can be classified as old school Memphis soul, featuring tasteful guitar accompaniment from Showers.

And now, back to the other cuts with his regular band. Robinson puts out one of the his best vocal performances on "Deeper Than You Think," with his voice soaring on what could have become a soul classic if it had been recorded 50 years ago. The slow pacing matches the phrasing of Robinson's vocals. Co-writer Steve Gomes joins in on bass and we also get nice horn work from Mark Buselli on trumpet and Rich Cohen on tenor sax, while Anker lays down an organ solo that pulls everything together.

"Up In The Air" walks along with a funky blues beat, with Robinson blowing the harmonica at times when he's not singing about his relationship that is the only consistent part of his life. That leads into the mid-tempo soul tune, "Forgive and Forget," with Anker again building the foundation with his organ accompaniment, and Robinson telling that woman he'll be waiting for her if she decides to come back home.

Soul In Blue is still another great addition to the rich Tad Robinson discography, and being back on Delmark suits him quite well.

--- Bill Mitchell