Picking up where Johnny "Guitar" Watson left off with his late-'70s funk-driven albums "Ain't That a Bitch" and "A Real Mother for Ya," this young, upstate New York blues/funk man attacks his genre with finger-snapping, shoulder-swaying enthusiasm. He drinks from the same well that furnished a motherlode of gritty R&B to the Stax machine when it was churning out high-voltage hits by Johnnie Taylor, Jean Knight, and Albert King.

It's rhythm and blues, plain and simple; Allen wisely forgoes extended guitar solos, overwrought arrangements and a cluttered mix to hone in on pure funk and soul. Lyrics on these 10 originals stick to familiar themes of lost, found and renewed love, but it's the way Allen sings these songs that gives them the gospel-soaked sound of the best, and the simplest, Memphis /Muscle Shoals music. In fact, the smooth approach, peppered with honking King Curtis sax, sanctified organ and, on "Sometimes You Got To Have Rain," female background vocals, plops Allen directly in the pews for a Staple Singers-style Sunday testimonial as the slow-grinding groove works deep into your soul.

Allen shows off his extensive influences, from the "got-ta, got-ta, got-ta" rapid-fire attack of Otis Redding to the stinging Albert Collins-like guitar fills of "Clear My Mind." Each cut is a gem, but it's the full package that best displays Allen's' full talent. Though "Things Sho' Done Changed" shows that Allen is equally comfortable with funk, soul, gospel and straight blues, he constantly adds his own spin to create a sound that's deep in the pocket.

Like Little Milton, who's dug into similar territory for the past 30 years, Allen can ride this niche as long as he wants. The album's lone acoustic cut, the disc-closing "Everybody Needs Love" (a vocal duet with Bill Sims), wraps a Sam & Dave call-and-response ballad around only a naked, lightly plucked guitar and heart-stirring singing. It proves that raw talent, a simple but poignant song, and a gut that's full of passion are all you need to create a devastatingly intense performance. After hearing this album, it's clear that Slam Allen has all three of those ingredients.

Hal Horowitz
Blues Revue Magazine
May 1999