JASON RICCI & NEW BLOOD Source: SHERMAN OAKS SUN/STUDIO CITY SUN  Date: 11/2007 Writer: Bill Bentley

Sometimes the most moving artists are those that make the biggest mess. It’s usually the music not drawn within the lines that lives the longest, and Jason Ricci and his bodacious band New Blood are getting their sound all over everything. It would be a huge mistake to call them a jam band, just as it would be a major gaffe to use the word blues when describing what Ricci does. Labeling him a harp player beyond belief goes without saying, just as it’s not stretching things too far in claiming that the band itself is pushing roots music into a brand new realm, one song at a time. Whether it’s “The Rocker,” which Ricci wrote about his addiction to crack cocaine, “I’m a New Man,” composed on his way to jail, or any other selection here, it’s clear Jason Ricci & New Blood have taken the road less traveled and gone completely off the grid. It’s best to approach this album without any preconceived expectations, because just about the time you have it pegged, something so striking and strong will fly by that all you can do is smile. A quick listen to their ten-and-half minute version of Sun Ra’s “Rocket Number 9” at the end of this interplanetary excursion will convince all within earshot that there really is room for new surprises, and that’s not even the longest or most lively song on the album. For the well rested.