Cummings is demon when it comes to ripping out a blazing blues run. His Fender screams like your kid sister on a roller coaster when he plugs in on “Man On Your Mind” off his new CD True To Yourself. Backed by Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Double Trouble bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer BE “Frosty” Smith the threesome come dangerously close to hard rock. Check out the Skynyrd/Allman Bros influenced “Come Up For Air” to appreciate the band’s full capacity to work up a frenzied rocker.

Cummings voice, gruff and intoxicating, embraces his songs. The shadow of Robin Trower is all over the place and with a soulful vocal delivery reminiscent of James Dewar or Dave Pattison the record stands firm as a classic. For the 36-year old Massachusetts native, a construction worker by day, the electric blues are a second career. Influenced by Albert Collins and Luther Allison he started playing guitar in high school but it was his first sighting of Stevie Ray Vaughan that changed his life.

Among the powerhouse rockers on True To Yourself, Cummings mixes it up with the country-tinged number “Work It Out” and shuffle of “Where Did I Go Wrong”. The straight-ahead “Blues Makes Me Feel So Good” and “Your Sweet Love” set up a traditional bar-room-boogie while keyboardist Riley Osborne puts his own stamp on the upbeat “Separately” and “Follow Your Soul”. Slowing it down just enough to capture the emotion of “Sleep” and “Lonely Bed” Cumming comes in for a home run.

Website: Blind Pig Records, www.albertcummings.com

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