Z.z. Hill

Authentic, occasionally obscure, but always groovy, West Coast soul. Southern blues abounds, while gospel and Motown’s influence are also present.

Jerry Williams Jr. reinvented himself in the late ‘60s as Swamp Dogg, releasing the landmark 1970 album Total Destruction to Your Mind; it introduced the world to a smart, funny artist who wrote poignant, profound songs about the world around him. The man himself considers this set to be that landmark album’s spiritual equal. Whether he’s singing about nuances of race and racism in the title track or on “Prejudice Is Alive and Well,” asking what happened to a soul music superstar on “Where Is Sly,” or working through Sam Cooke’s “You Send Me” and a few other covers, this is pure timeless Swamp Dogg–styled R&B, soul, and funk.

Although he only recently recorded his first nationally distributed full-length album, Los Angeles-based singer and songwriter Finis Tasby is no spring chicken in the blues world. Tasby has been singing in the Los Angeles area for years, and for years before that in Dallas.