Drawing from straightforward urban blues wailers like
James Cotton as well as the blues-rock of the '80s, harpist Jordan Patterson delivers an uneven but intriguing album with
Give Me A Chance. Patterson deserves some credit for trying to expand the boundaries of contemporary blues by adding harder rhythms and more complicated melodies but his execution often doesn't deliver the promise of his ideas. Frequently, his delivery is too forced -- he pushes both his voice and harp to the limit, which doesn't let his songs take hold. Nevertheless, there is a lot of potential on this debut. Patterson has a gutsy, impassioned attituded and when he matches his confidence with the right tune, the results are powerful. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine