Label: Gulf Coast Records

There’s nothing better than an album full of music that the recording artist clearly loves. That’s what you get with Kevin Burt & Big Medicine’s latest disc, Thank You, Big Brother: A Tribute to Bill Withers. While I admit to playing tracks 6 (“Ain’t No Sunshine”) and 7 (“Lean On Me”) first, if only to test the worthiness of the project, the extremely successful interpretations of those classics made it clear that the rest of the album was going to be everything I hoped.

It takes guts to tackle a tribute to an artist whose rich notes and hearfelt connection to every lyric were so indelible. Thankfully, Kevin Burt saw the value of taking on the challenge. He takes advantage of the timeless material and shares his comforting, relaxed vocals, which are really perfect for the task. The payoff is the renewed life his vocals bring to the songs we forgot how much we miss. Mr. Burt makes this music with a top-notch combo of musicians. See if you can let track 4 (“Just the Two of Us”) play only once, without hitting repeat. I could not. Each repeated listening shone a light on each of these fine musician’s contributions.

And it is. By the time you start at the top and get to track 13 (“Thank You, Brother Bill”), you’ve not only been reminded of some powerful Bill Withers recordings, but you’ve been introduced to an artist of today who is more than up to the job of carrying on Mr. Withers’ vital musical legacy. That final track was composed by Kevin Burt and is a fitting summation of the entire album’s spirit. The song is personal and universal, soulful and celebratory. It is an act of gratitude that speaks for all of us who agree with the message.

Musicians: Kevin Burt (lead vocals, guitar, harmonica); Scot Sutherland (bass); Ken Valdez (lead/rhythm guitar, backgroud vocals); Eric Douglas (drums/percussion).