MORE TO IT
“I USE FINGER PICKS WHEN I PLAY STEEL GUITAR BECAUSE I LIKE THE CLANKINESS THEY BRING, AND I LIKE THE WARM SOUND OF FINGERS ON A WOODEN GUITAR”
KEB’ MO’ HAS been such a fixture on the acoustic roots scene for the past quarter century that it’s easy to take him for granted. That would be a major mistake, however. The Grammy-winning master finger picker and slide stalwart is still challenging himself and listeners, both onstage and on record. His new release, Oklahoma (Concord), features inventive songcraft and interesting acoustic instrumentation, as well as important contributions from players like Robert Randolph, Taj Mahal and Rosanne Cash, and producer Colin Linden.
The title track begins with a wild stuttering, turntable-scratching kind of sound layered over a Latin-flavored nylon-string vamp. It proceeds to address Americana subject matter and features a tasty fiddle solo, along with a mercurial slide solo on the outro. “I’ve got to give Robert Randolph credit for bringing that tune to life and inspiring me to put it on the record,” Mo’ says. On “Put a Woman In Charge,” he combines driving acoustic guitar rhythms and resonator slide playing in a “Me Too”-era anthem that
