"From the old school to the new I’m gonna play these blues for you," sings Chris Thomas King on a song called "Like Father, Like Son" from his debut Blind Pig release called "Me, My Guitar And The Blues." Like Keb’ Mo’, Chris is on the cutting edge of a new kind of blues music. He effortlessly blends many styles into his own unique sound. On this disc he moves from acoustic bottleneck slide to silky smooth R&B to hip hop to New Orleans funk. Most impressive is that Chris plays every instrument and sings all vocal parts.

There’s been a lot of hype around Chris Thomas King these days. He was recently featured on the cover of Blues Revue Magazine and he’s co-starring in a major motion picture due out soon called "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" Chris is a 36 year old native of Baton Rouge. His father, Tabby Thomas, is well known in blues circles. Chris added "King" to his name a couple of years ago as a tribute to B.B., Freddie, and Albert.

Nine of the eleven cuts on the disc are originals. Chris does a cover of the old blues standard "Born Under A Bad Sign." Here’s a song that’s been done to death, but Chris adds a rap verse to it making his version different from all others ever done. He also digs deep into some delta blues with a cover of Robert Johnson’s "Stones In My Passway." Another song called "Superstitious Blues" is listed as an original, however, it owes so much to the Willie Dixon tune "I Ain’t Superstitious" that it should also be considered a cover.

The one song on the disc which will probably garner the most attention is a chilling account of the devastation wreaked by crack cocaine called "Cain." Besides its powerful topical lyrics, it’s the first song I’ve ever heard that blends hip hop and blues. This is really cutting edge stuff. Following "Cain" is a completely different kind of song called "Stay Just As You Are," which is best described as soul music with pop sensibilities. The disc ends on an upbeat note with a sweet love song called "You Are My Heaven."

This really is an extraordinary recording and I highly recommend it. Hopefully being on a major blues label like Blind Pig will expose Chris Thomas King to a much wider audience. (Of course a hit movie should help as well!) For more information on Chris please check out either blindpigrecords.com or christhomasking.com. Look for this record to be on many top ten lists at year’s end.

****1/2