Leon Redbone - Red to Blue Rounder Records 1161 3234 –2 Format: CD Originally Released: 1987 Reissue Released: 2004 Musical Performance Recording Quality Overall Enjoyment

Leon Redbone - No Regrets Rounder Records 11661 3235-2 Format: CD Originally Released: 1988 Reissue Released: 2004 Musical Performance Recording Quality Overall Enjoyment

Leon Redbone - Whistling in the Wind Rounder Records 11661 3238-2 Format: CD Originally Released: 1994 Reissue Released: 2004 Musical Performance Recording Quality Overall Enjoyment by Joseph Taylor josepht@soundstage.com

When he first appeared in 1975, Leon Redbone, with his white suits, Panama hat and walking stick, was a sartorial anomaly in an age of jeans and platform shoes. His somewhat mysterious persona (even after nearly 30 years in show business, very little is known about him) has probably worked to his benefit, since most of the songs he’s performed over the years were written before World War II. Redbone could easily be dismissed as a colorful eccentric, if not for his formidable fingerstyle guitar playing, his smooth, deep voice, and his utter sincerity when singing tunes that predate him by a generation or two.

Redbone’s first record for Warner Bros., On the Track (1975), was the template for all his recordings, which makes recommending one title over another somewhat difficult. Yet, it’s not an overstatement to say they’re all worth owning, including the three reissues covered here. Redbone sifts through American popular music’s distant past to revitalize songs we know, such as Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer’s "Lazy Bones" (on No Regrets), and lesser-known gems, such as "Reaching for Someone and Not Finding Anyone There" by Walter Donaldson and Leslie Edgar (on Red to Blue). Although he approaches these old songs respectfully, he doesn’t treat them as museum pieces. His affection for them, and his conviction that they still matter, ensures that they sound fresh and vital.

Great musicians always get the chance to shine on Redbone’s recordings, and these recordings contain some sharp playing from Bireli Lagrene, Dr. John, and others. Redbone’s own songs on No Regrets and Whistling In the Wind show the influence of the many writers and styles he’s interpreted over the years.

With an average running time of under 40 minutes, these very enjoyable discs could each have been filled out a bonus track or two, but at $11.98 list they’re affordably priced.

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