The Soul of John Black, helmed by bluesy persona John Bigham (Fishbone), provides more of the same funky blues as heard on his previous release, 2007’s The Good Girl Blues.

John Bigham likes a varied flow of blues in his music and this album provides a nice range of that.  From the ska-flavouring of “Bottom Chick,” which brings to my mind the blended gospel direction of “Respect Yourself” (Staples Singers), to the funk-blues of the opener “Black John, a ‘70s-styled R&B track (with hints of Temptations and Brothers Cornelius and Sister Rose), from the ska-R&B of “Betty Jean” to the gospel electricity of “Ever Changin’ Emotions,” Black John is a collection of blues tunes that is sure to plug in somewhere on your blues-board.

“Better Babe” turns in a Country performance with some nice slide.  I like slide and I favour this track.  “Holiday Inn” is a pure R&B Pop tune that would be at home on a ‘70s R&B album.  There’s plenty of influence here and JB does a fine job of creating a selection of tracks that cater to my blues fixation.  He reaches further in this mixed bag of an album, which might be a little too varied to snare a solid fan base.