The Deal: Renaissance soul man redefines R&B.

The Good: What Hamilton Loomis does ain't blues, but it sure is funky. Loomis calls it "outside the box," and he ain't just woofin'. The music's coming out of Texas, but it sounds like it'd be more at home in New Orleans. "Best Worst Day" is pure N'Awleans second-line strut. "Legendary" is a smooth combination of soul and funk. Loomis' guitar style is fatback funk: greasy and mighty satisfyin'. He's said Prince is an influence along with James Brown and Sam and Dave. It's all evident in his music. It sounds natural, not like he's recreating the past but forging ahead into new territory using the older stuff as a guideline on how to be a 21st century soulman. He even got the irascible old Bo Diddley on board to co-write and perform "You Got To Wait." But Loomis doesn't let Diddley overwhelm him, which is no mean feat, with Diddley's scat singing and trademark Diddley tremelo guitar.

The Bad: Ain't none. It's all good, start to finish.

The Verdict: You need this. It's all the good stuff you forgot about soul music, updated and funkified.