Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise - New Ground (2002)

Former busker Robert Bradley and his Blackwater Surprise band take a different track on their third outing. Instead of rejuvenating classic soul and R&B-based funk by fusing it with sprawling blues romps, they take a trip to the Temptations' psychedelic shack and bring back some souvenirs. Not only have they added spacey sound samples--the kind that accompanied George Clinton's Mothership on its travels--but they use some contrivances right at hand for an interesting, post-millennial edge. Not since Jane's Addiction's "Got Caught Stealing" has a canine been put to such good use as a percussive instrument as on "Lindy," where a swampy piano, handclaps, and some fuzzy guitar are carried along by a well-trained pooch who barks on the beat. The shimmering "Ride My Wave" approaches trip-hop, as Bradley hypnotically chants in a style that approaches Marvin Gaye at his sensuous best. Bradley and his alternative-rockers still explore rhythms that showcase this grizzled blues singer's emotive mastery, but they've gone a little further afield for inspiration. What's the Blackwater Surprise? That these disparate parts fit so seamlessly. --Jaan Uhelszki