Picking up the thread left hanging from 2018's back-to-basics
Hurry Up & Hang Around,
Traveler's Blues finds
Blues Traveler covering a bunch of their favorite tunes -- mostly blues -- but they find space for such unexpected detours as
Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy." This version of "Crazy" happens to feature vocals by
Rita Wilson and guitar by
John Scofield, whose presence indicates the wide range of guest stars on
Traveler's Blues.
Blues Traveler ropes in such fellow jam band travelers as
Warren Haynes and their old pal
Crystal Bowersox, who appeared on their 2012 album
Suzie Cracks the Whip, but there are also a ton of blues players -- people as old as
Keb' Mo' and as young as
Christone "Kingfish" Ingram -- and
Willie Nelson's longtime harpist
Mickey Raphael. Maybe
Blues Traveler didn't reinvent these songs, playing these familiar tunes fairly straight, but the guests keep
Blues Traveler nimble and lend
Traveler's Blues a bit of a welcome party vibe. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine