Room to Breathe

1	Same Kind of Crazy 4:04
2	Smooth Talk 3:49
3	Jungle Room 3:41
4	Everything I Know About the Blues 3:31
5	Blues About You Baby 3:00
6	Lone Star Blues 3:57
7	The Rub 3:15
8	Won't Be Me 4:04
9	Don't Want to Love You 3:00
10	Ain't Lost Nothing 2:45
11	Money Honey 3:35
12	New York City 3:33

Barnes & Noble

One thing's for certain: Anyone who gets down with Room to Breathe is gonna need some room to move. Hot off his surprise hit Nothing Personal, Delbert McClinton comes roaring out of the box with some punishing roadhouse rock on "Same Kind of Crazy" and hardly gives a listener, well, room to breathe. Making liberal use of horns and a B-3 organ, McClinton goes even deeper into southern soul than he did on his 2001 Grammy-winner. There's only one nod to country, but it's a doozy, an all-star "Lone Star Blues" that features all of the Flatlanders, Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell, and Guy Clark, among others. With wit (the abovementioned "Same Kind of Crazy"), wordplay (the greasy groove of "Jungle Room"), and, in the reflective moments that break up this rhythm juggernaut, a whole lotta heart, McClinton is at a career high. The slow, aching blues of "Don't Want to Love You" is one of the most exquisite vocal performances in his canon, with that weary voice taking on the weight of the world as he details the inevitable, tortured end of an affair, set to the haunting chords of a gospel-tinged piano solo. Best of all is the rousing jump blues that closes the album, "New York City," which features a sputtering B-3 solo run, honking sax solos, and a swaggering McClinton asserting his need for -- and determination to get -- a Big Apple fix. It's the sort of spirited song New York could use after September 11th, and Delbert does it up right. Like he does throughout Room to Breathe. David McGee

All Music Guide

Delbert McClinton's ebullience is undeniable on Room to Breathe. One track, "Lone Star Blues," stands out for its splashy presentation; over a clip-clop beat, an eye-crossing assembly of Americana superstars gathers to sing on each chorus. Outside of Will the Circle Be Unbroken, this much talent has rarely been herded into one studio. Robert Doerschuk