EMORY JOSEPH
LABOR & SPIRITS
By Craig Shelburne
CMT.com



Joseph enlists some primo players for his debut, Labor & Spirits (Capsaicin). Enhancing Joseph’s bluesy take on Americana are sturdy studio stalwarts T-Bone Wolk, Myron Dove, Jon Carroll, Duke Levine, Kenny Aronoff, Dave Mattacks and Levon Helm. It’s tough to categorize this breezy album, but those who spent their youth tuning into late-night music programs in the 1970s, as Joseph did, may quickly embrace it.