After three outstanding releases (two studio, one live) on Alligator Records, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram recently released his third studio album, Hard Road, on his own Red Zero Records, a label he co-founded with his manager Ric Whitney to showcase his own recordings as well as other up and coming artists.

Longtime producer/collaborator Tom Hambridge produced five of the tracks, while Patrick “GuitarBoy” Hayes co-produced four with Ingram, and Nick Goldston produced two tracks. Ingram wrote or co-wrote all 11 songs.

While there's still plenty of Ingram's guitar fireworks throughout, there's a definite emphasis on the songwriting this time around and the fretwork serves the songs, which are most impressive.

The opener, “Truth” (produced by Hambridge), is autobiographical, like most of the rest of the tunes. It's gritty and funky as well as revealing Ingram's past, present, and future musical path. “Bad Like Me,” produced by Goldston, has a more contemporary R&B feel with a bit of hip hop in Ingram's vocal delivery, and it's one of the standouts on the disc.

“S.S.S.” (stands for “She's So Sexy”) was produced by Ingram and Hayes, featuring wah-wah guitar and a driving beat to get you on your feet. “Nothing But Your Love” (produced by Goldston) is a soulful R&B ballad that showcases Ingram's vocals. “Crosses” (produced by Hambridge) brings the guitar back up front in a big way, as the young guitarist pulls out all the stops with a searing solo, leading into the swampy Hambridge-produced “Voodoo Charm” (reviewed in our July issue), a funky blues right out of the swamp with soaring guitar work.

“Back to LA,” another Hambridge production, is a fun and funky tour of the many cities where the band plays on the way to the west coast. Hayes and Ingram produced “Clearly,” which is another R&B-flavored ballad that takes a pointed look at the inner workings of the music business.

“Standing On Business” is a stripped-down R&B number addressing the dependence on one's self above all and keeping focus on the big prize, and “Hard To Love,” which mixes funk, blues, and rock and wraps up with an awesome guitar workout from Ingram.

The acoustic “Memphis” closes the album, just Ingram on guitar, Tommy Macdonald on bass, and up-and-comer Harrell “Young Rell” Davenport on harmonica. This track was produced by Hambridge, and the line-up on the other tracks he produced include Hambridge on drums, Glenn Worf or Macdonald on bass, Kenny Greenberg on guitar, Marty Sammon on B3, and Sarah and Rachel Hambridge on background vocals.

The Ingram/Goldston tracks have all instruments played by Ingram and Goldston, and the Hayes/Ingram tracks include Tim “88karats” Tyler (bass), CJ Ramsey III or James “Jbrab” Brabham (keys), Joseph Knox, Jr. (drums) and Hayes (bass/drums/keys/rhythm guitar).

Hard Road marks a change in direction for Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, but there's still plenty of searing guitar work as on his previous efforts. The songs are remarkably personal and paint a vivid picture of what the young blues man has been dealing with over the past few years. The shifts toward R&B and hip hop blend seamlessly with his traditional rocking blues guitar, and I'm intrigued by what's to come with Ingram and his new label, which has also signed Dylan Triplett and Mathias Lattin.

--- Graham Clarke