Music review: Jonny Lang

Album: Turn Around

Stars: 2.5/5

Jonny Lang is no longer a blues guitarist; he's a rocker. Or so his iTunes genre designation says-it was "Blues" for his previous albums but "Rock" for his latest, Turn Around (A&M).

Except "Rock" doesn't really grasp it. Is "Gospel Funk With Wailing But Sometimes Overbearing Vocals and Not Enough Guitar" a genre?

Since bursting onto the scene in 1997 as a guitarist who sounded wiser than his years, Lang has shied away from guitar-driven blues shuffles, favoring a funkier, more vocal-centric aesthetic. It's a shame-the man can shred, but he doesn't on Turn Around. Granted, he does use his impressive set of pipes to howl on tunes such as "The Other Side of the Fence."

Sometimes the embellishments are too much, especially on "Only a Man" and other falsetto ballads. And he takes his spiritually-infused optimism too far on "Anything's Possible," singing "Martin Luther King/Did some beautiful things/All because he had a dream/Just like you and me," before setting an excerpt of King's famous speech to a '70s funk beat. I think I just threw up a little in my mouth-can I say that?

For all its shortcomings, the album's foot-tapping, high-energy grooves suit Lang's powerful vocals well. And at only 25, he's got lots of potential.