Let’s get a couple things straight: First, despite a name that conjures images of a young and sexy pop singer, Christian Collin is a bona fide blues rocker, schooled in Midwestern bars and roadhouses. Second, his sophomore solo album, Spirit of the Blues, sizzles and burns with a dozen songs he wrote all by himself. No cover tunes, no outside lyricists and no nonsense. Whether he’s leading a raunchy harmonica-blues shuffle (“Player’s Game”), shimmying to Southern rock laced with bouncy honky-tonk piano (“A Woman Like You”) or simmering on old-school R&B (“Without You”), the Detroit-born vocalist and guitarist makes every song here count. Recorded in Chicago and backed by a core rhythm section, Collin’s style invokes Robert Cray, Johnny Winter and even Jimi Hendrix. Maybe the fact that his dad was an A&R man for Capitol Records and worked as Bob Seger’s road manager helped teach Collin the value of hard work and musical discipline.
