Keep Coming Back (Deluxe Version)

2008's Keep Coming Back finds Marc Broussard still belting out bygone blue-eyed soul-inspired epics steeped in the rich sounds of vintage gear recorded on two-inch analogue tape. But this time around the songs are all originals and his lyrics are more pertinent than any down-on-my-knees-begging-you-please clichés. "Keep Coming Back" opens with the smooth strut of a Curtis Mayfield tune (think Shaft soundtrack) which Broussard inflects with both the gritty gusto of Bobby Charles and the buttery timbre of Lowell George. His guitarist may have been going for a Jimi Hendrix tone on "Hard Knocks" but the polished production pulls the acid from the rock, sounding more like a Lenny Kravitz anachronism. Conversely, the groove-heavy "Why Should She Wait" is so authentically old school (even with Sara Bareilles' guest vocals) that it will make you want to don vintage corduroys. The swampy funk of "Power's In The People" boogies on a clavinet and a minefield of wah-wah pedals, but "When It's Good" is the undeniable jam here with LeAnn Rimes helping it sound like a bluesy Delaney & Bonnie gem. She almost upstages Broussard, but by the end, there's no doubt that this is his masterpiece.