Despite countless attempts to gentrify it, prettify it, whitewash it and generally remove its teeth, the blues remains—as it began—a workingman’s music. So when the most famous of the second-generation Neals took some much-needed time off from the road to restore his ’47 Buick (as laid out in the liner notes to this CD), it served to focus him well, simultaneously taking his mind off the business and reminding him that a business is what it was. His new album for Telarc, his first solo release in two years, shows it in both his renewed vigor and sunshiny peace of mind.

Fact is, Kenny (the son of Baton Rouge blues cornerstone Raful Neal) is the kind of guy you love to watch work: he’s never gonna turn too many heads, but he’s so damn genial on the job you have to smile along with him. And his twangy, tangy guitar leads, as bright and airy as his personality, really can stir the joint up on affable little instrumentals like “Neal And Pray.” So if he sounds more toe-tapping than tortured on slow jams like Jerry Lynn Williams’ title track or Neal’s own “Never Thought About Growing Old,” forgive him. Call this the blues for people who like happy endings.