Album Review: Jovin Webb – Drifter

Coming to fame as a contestant on the pop music TV competition American Idol isn’t the most conventional path for a blues artist. But in the end, if the talent, focus and determination are there, whatever road gets an artist where he or she wishes to go is the right one. So it is for Baton Rouge-based vocalist Jovin Webb. On the program’s 18^th season he made it all the way to the top ten competitors. He didn’t win that 2020 season, but unlike most of his competitors, Webb would eventually land a recording contract.

Jovin Webb’s first set of releases were tracks used in a crime thriller, The Dirty South. Now signed to Blind Pig Records, he has made his first album, Drifter. Collaborating with in-demand producer and co-songwriter Tom Hambridge, Webb has put together a collection of twelve songs, all but one of which are original numbers.

Hambridge’s production showcases his customary uncluttered, gimmick-free approach to his craft, and that approach suits Webb and his songs well. The band put together to support Webb is rock-solid: guitarist Kenny Greenberg, keyboardist Mike Rojas and Rob Cureton on bass all provide the right mix of grit, energy and finesse without ever getting in the way of the spotlight artist. And Hambridge continues to amaze with his seemingly effortless ability to turn in flawless and effective drum parts while overseeing the session.

There’s a blues sensibility and feel to the cuts on Drifter, but the music has at least as much to do with mainstream rock. Webb’s soulful voice is certainly a reminder of why he got as far as he did on the television competition: he strikes a commendable balance of passion and polish on these tracks. But occasionally he seems to be aiming to re-create the feel of other artists: “Wig On Wrong” sounds and feels like a Little Richard pastiche. If that’s his goal, fair enough; Webb does a credible enough job. Elsewhere he variously sounds as if he’s conjuring Otis Redding, or any number of ‘70s rock vocalists.

There’s a stirring gospel character to “Livin’ Reckless”; in fact its inclusion suggests that Webb might be trying just a bit too hard to serve up a collection of songs that checks all the boxes, to make a musical assertion that he can do anything. While that approach may win votes on American Idol, it does not necessarily yield a truly cohesive and distinctive album.

Notably, Webb sounds most at home on the album’s sole cover, a faithful reading of Albert King’s classic “Born Under a Bad Sign.” He doesn’t exactly make the song his own, but he turns in an appealing performance. It’s easy to imagine the AI judges wiggling in their seats, nodding to the beat as they listen to the track.

While he may not have fully developed a style of his own, Jovin Webb’s work on Drifter shows that he unquestionably has natural talents that should allow him, in time, to transcend a derivative approach in favor of something uniquely his own. In the meantime, there’s nothing at all wrong with Drifter.