Bobby “Blue” Bland has his place in the Blues Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and was honored in 1997 with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, yet never really seemed to get the same mainstream recognition as the likes of Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye [2], and B.B. King.

“One month from the day I first met you, your promises have proved to be untrue. So, step by step I’ve been a fool, now I’m just two steps from the blues”

This is how Bobby introduces us to his album; accompanied by loud horns, piano and drums. It is also with this song that he sets the general dark tone of the whole album. The title track is definitely my favorite song of the album and probably one of my favorite songs of all-time. As early as the first minute you can already see why Bobby is considered a legend today. It totally blew my mind to hear a man sing with such a raw passion and emotion. I guess this what Blues is all about after all. Emotion, is such an important part of music, and especially an important part of Blues. Yet, as early as his first real album, Bobby puts as much emotion in his songs than an experienced veteran would and probably even more. His powerful vocals tell us the story of a man whose suffered the worst aspects of love and are some of the most beautiful things I ever had the chance to hear.

The music, although heavily overshadowed by Bobby’s vocals that grab most, if not all of our attention, is also really great and entertaining. Produced by Joe Scott, the whole album follows a really dark, heart-wrenching theme in which piano, drums and horns are reigning to make this album a true Blues masterpiece. The arrangements are brilliantly done and match Bobby’s style perfectly on every single song even on the saddest to the more cheerful.

Bobby became a much more experienced musician afterward and mastered Blues like no other in a matter of years and finally became the legend he is today, but he never really matched his raw passion that was on his first real solo album. Perhaps it was because it was new or because of his inexperience, “Two Steps from the Blues” still remains Bobby’s magnum opus and one of the finest work in Blues history.

by Jean-Guy