Whether he is playing with a full band or as a duo with drummer Swamp Man Loose—Jeff Hale—Tony Joe White has been funky since his first album in 1969. On Deep Cuts, he revisits many of his classics, but with looped drums that don’t improve on the originals or make him sound more contemporary. If anything, they stiffen the grooves and minimize the laidback quality that is White’s calling card, along with his voice.

That, too, is a little off here as well. White always sounds casual, but here he sings as if he’s reacquainting himself with the song before a take. The performances sound private, as if he’s not aware of an audience or a microphone, or as if he’s deep in thought. That slightly undersung quality is interesting and sometimes dramatic, but it also means the melodic contours of the songs flatten out at times, with a range from low to subterranean.

It’s hard not to think of Deep Cuts as a bad idea executed as well as it could be. Since I love his music and have enjoyed talking to him each time I’ve had the opportunity, I want to think the best of any White project, but it sounds like a misguided attempt to demonstrate his relevance. Nothing but a collaboration with T.I. would put him on the charts today, but his idiosyncrasy in always valuable, if not in style.