Ash Wednesday Blues

1	Stoned, Drunk and Naked / Kevin O'Day 4:52
2	Ho-Di-Ko-Di-Ya-La-Ma-La / Kevin O'Day 3:58
3	Every Bit of Love / Kevin O'Day 5:26
4	Stuck on My Baby / Kevin O'Day 4:12
5	Snake Bit Again / Kevin O'Day 5:25
6	Soul Livin' / Kevin O'Day 4:46
7	Me and Lola / Kevin O'Day 5:37
8	Kingdom Come / Kevin O'Day 5:00
9	Kiddin' Me / Kevin O'Day 4:50
10	Life Is Strange / Kevin O'Day 5:57
11	Aim Way High / Kevin O'Day 5:11
12	Improvise / Kevin O'Day 4:33
13	Ash Wednesday Blues / Kevin O'Day 4:06
14	Through and Through / Kevin O'Day 3:53

Barnes & Noble

Guitarist, singer, and songwriter Anders Osborne moved from his native Sweden to New Orleans in 1990, and the musical gumbo of the Crescent City has become a staple of his diet. The ingredients in Osborne’s band for Ash Wednesday Blues include sousaphonist Kirk Joseph of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Neville Brother Cyrille Neville on percussion, and vocalist/keyboardist Davelle Crawford cooking up the funk on “Stoned, Drunk & Naked” and taking it to the streets New Orleans-style for the funereal “Life Is Strange.” Adding the roots blues flavoring is Keb’ Mo', who plays banjo and percussion and sings backup on the acoustic “Stuck on My Baby.” For the love ballad “Through & Through,” Mo’s acoustic guitar is the only accompaniment to Osborne’s country-tinged vocals. A more raucous energy infuses several tunes that feature blues guitarist and soul singer Jonny Lang. His guitar solo on “Snake Bit Again” is venomous, whereas for the frenetic “Aim Way High” Lang plays like a whirling dervish. Both Lang and Mo' have recorded Osborne-penned tunes, and it is the songwriting that holds Ash Wednesday Blues together. Osborne’s imagery is fresh even when it turns biblical on “Kingdom Come” or rises from the Mardi Gras Indian vernacular as in the romance rave “Ho-Di-Ko-Di-Ya-La-Ma-La.” Roberta Penn

All Music Guide

New Orleans is known for producing musicians in search of a good time, men who are long on boogie, but short on content. Osborne just might be the exception. He owes as much to artists like Jackson Browne and early Bruce Springsteen as he does to Dr. John or Professor Longhair. Have no fear, most of these songs still bring the slurry wobble most people love about the Big Easy, but there's a self-deprecation to these lyrics and enough dark imagery to make sure you take Osborne seriously. Whether he turns into Townes Van Zandt (hopefully), or Bob Seger (hopefully not), remains to be seen. This is a snapshot of an artist discovering himself. Very good in its own right, it leads one to believe the next record just might be a classic. Stay tuned. ~ Rob Ferrier, All Music Guide