Jukebox Jive

Chris Rea’s voice has been maturing to a whisky-soaked growl in recent years, and The Blue Jukebox should wipe away any last, lingering bits of his MOR reputation once and for all. His voice–pitched somewhere between Mark Knopfler and Tom Waits–is the perfect accompaniment to the world-weary jazz of The Blue Jukebox. Since recovering from serious illness a few years ago, he’s detoured far from The Road to Hell, taking his sound right back to fundamentals, and in the process become one heck of a blues singer and guitarist, leaving contemporaries such as Eric Clapton in the dust. The slide guitar, shuffling beat and low-wailing sax of “The Beat Goes On” are even reminiscent of former indie darlings Morphine–quite a feat for a man in his 50s. Most impressively, many of the songs here–particularly “Monday Morning” and “Long Is the Time, Hard Is the Road”–have a certain timeless quality, in spite of being Rea originals. The Blue Jukebox is the ideal late-night album, and more than just Rea’s best yet–it’s a genuinely exceptional collection of soulful, blues-drenched jazz. –Robert Burrow