In the last five years, no one has released more consistently excellent blues albums than Atlanta's Tinsley Ellis, and his latest project once again validates his status. Ellis produced the disc, penned nine of the 11 tunes, sings like a man possessed and wields a mean lead guitar from start to finish. His sidemen are in the pocket, his original material is solid, and Ellis' performance shows sublime confidence and grit: Check his guitar work on the midtempo "Freeway Soul." In a more ferocious vein, both "Somebody" and his cover of "I Take What I Want" find Ellis and guitar in suborbital mode. —Philip Van Vleck