The sound of Johnnie Bassett's guitar is about as sleek as any bluesman's working today. His tone is fat, though, just like the women he sings about on "Meat on Them Bones," a tune from his new album, "The Gentleman is Back." His guitar is really the star of the album. It's flat-out chunky on the rollicking "Keep Your Hands Off My Baby." It's sweet and soft on slower tunes like "Woman's Got Ways" and "I'm Lost." But he has a fine voice, too. It's warm, gregarious even.
The Florida native, who's a staple of the Detroit blues scene, will charm you with "The Gentleman is Back." If he doesn't, you probably need to go find a bad metal guitarist who covers his anorexic notes by playing as fast as he can.
