Room To Breathe? What kind of a crazy title is that? There ain't no room to breathe in here. It's hot, and smokey, and the boys in their jeans and t-shirts are pressed up close to the girls in their low-rise Levis. Don't those spaghetti straps look nice? Mmmmm. Cowboy boots shufflin' and dancin', everybody here is havin' a good ole time. I can't hear you over the band. Whew...they are cookin' tonight! This Texas blues is some good music!

That's the kind of atmosphere that suffuses this latest album by Texas blues-meister Delbert McClinton. His albums are normally filled with McClintonized cover versions, steaming bluesy shuffles, over which his honey and garlic voice weaves its magic. But this time, he's had room to breathe and write a dozen of his own tunes. The format is familiar, the sound is classic Delbert, but the songs are composed by himself and compatriots Gary Nicholson, Al Anderson, Benmont Tench and J.Fred Knoblach. Whoever wrote them...they're pretty basic 12-bar blues with the personality of the lyrics raising them over the standard. No "squeeze my lemon til the juice runs down my leg" here! Instead we get, "It's hard to use a ladder cause I keep climbin' down just to kiss her/ if she's out of my sight for a minute or two I start to miss her/ we stay all tangled up in each other's arms and it's so nice/ she talks in her sleep but she always gets my name right/ if there's anything at all that's wrong with her/ it's something that I can't see/ ain't no doubt about it/ she'sthe same kinda crazy as me."

The band is solid and swings like the backyard gate! Lynn Williams on drums, George Hawkins on bass, guitarists Bill Campbell and Todd Sharp, and Kevin McKendree on organ (B3 and Wurlitzer) all rock the place out. Bekka Bramlett provides background vocals, and Delbert plays the harmonica and a little bit of guitar. He gave harp lessons to John Lennon while backing Bruce Channel ("Hey! Baby") on a British tour in 1963! On "Lone Star Blues" he is backed by a Who's Who of Texas songwriters. Guy Clark, Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle, Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock, Billy Joe Shaver, Gary Nicholson and Texan-for-a-day Emmy Lou Harris join in with others to provide the chorus.

One tune just about sums up McClinton's approach. "I learned to swim when daddy threw me in the river/ the army taught me how to shine my shoes/ the years have shown me that nothin' lasts forever/ but everything I learned about the blues/ I learned from you." The blues are everywhere, and in everything, but if you want to learn something about 'em, take a walk down to the McClinton Bar & Grill. Join the boys and girls dancin' and grindin'. It's hot and sweaty, the beer's cold, the people friendly and the music is just fine.

[David Kidney]