Like Little Johnny Taylor, Eddie Hinton, and Bobby “Blue” Bland, singer Earl Gaines has a style that falls somewhere on the borderline between Southern-style blues and old-school urban soul/R&B. Gaines conveys the grit and passion of the blues while dressing it up in a suave, uptown Saturday night soul style. His debut for Ecko, NOTHIN’ BUT THE BLUES, features more of what Gaines is known for--songs about cheating, the healing power of a good love, and tough lessons of the past, all put across by his rich, down-to-earth, big-as-outdoors soulful voice.