See the Light

Well, this is the album Bo Bice should have made the first time around — an album steeped in the south, not just Southern rock but heaping helpings of country, blues, and soul, all bearing a writing credit from Bice himself. It's miles away from the corporately massaged debut The Real Thing, a proto-DAUGHTRY attempt to turn an American Idol rocker into a marketable package and one that pretty much killed any chance of having Bice appeal to either his fans on the show or modern rockers...or anybody, really. See the Light is a do-over, kicking Bo right back to where he's started from: singing Southern-fried rock to a small audience. Not many will care in 2007/2008, but those who do — those with long memories, those who are loyal — will be very happy with this record, which is lean and sturdy, never flashy. Bice writes all the stuff — all bloozy boogie and choogle, but he knows enough to either consciously or unconsciously rework Charlie Daniels' "Trudy" as "Take the Country Out of Me," which earns a lot of points for taste — and while he's not working new ground he's digging deep into his Southern roots, knowing how to shuffle around the elements into something that's not new, but is enjoyable. Again, it's not for everybody but for those who care, they'll rejoice that Bo Bice finally delivers on his promise from the show...and wonder if anything would have been different if this was the album he did the first time out.