With 2010's , returned to Chicago's after a 14-year absence to release what was then his most autobiographical album to date. For over a decade he issued homegrown projects on his label, including 2012's and two dates with (2012's Grammy-winning and 2018's ). He cut the Grammy-nominated with . All these records travel a labyrinthine path to . Recorded in Clarksdale, Mississippi -- he was born in Kosciusko, and moved to Clarksdale after decades elsewhere -- it features eight originals and six covers offering a portrait of life as a bluesman. He leads a trio with drummer and upright bassist on several tunes, while the rest is performed solo. plays harmonica and sings, but for the first time since 2006's , he plays guitar throughout. Co-produced by and wife is humid and swampy, it rolls rather than rocks. 's guitar-playing style is reflected beautifully in opener "Blues Up the River" -- loose, slippery, and subtle. Things get a bit woolier on a reading of 's "Hobo Blues." reflects 's immortal version with a simmering, sinister, groove. "In Your Darkest Hour" is a paean of personal redemption via the power of love, offered solo to an individual during a time of difficulty. He lightens the mood for "Stingaree," another solo track. His road-weary baritone flows atop harmonica and guitar lines, expressing his devotion to the beloved: "She might not sting for you/but she's always buzzin' me...." On the solo instrumental "Remembering Big Joe," plays the guitar of his late friend, , and renders two sides of the Delta blues in his choogling read of 's "Pea Vine Blues" with the band, and a sensual version of 's immortal "Crawling King Snake." is a canny songwriter, able to relate his entire autobiography in a two-minute, shuffling, electric country blues. The band grooves under one of the most poignant lines in this history of blues poetry: "Blues tells the truth in a world that's full of lies...." He counters with the shadow side of that identity on the harrowing "My Road Lies in Darkness," and pulls out a slide for a deep blue read of the ' high lonesome folk song "Rank Strangers." Closer "A Voice Foretold" is a haunting blues spiritual written by playwright/lyricist and pianist/composer for their play The Gospel at Colonus. It's a prophetic look into the face of death and doesn't flinch. In his laconic Southern drawl, sings with acceptance, placing his hope in a loving, merciful God. The bookend to the journey he began with is an unromanticized testament to living the blues and sounds like it came from the soil. As such, it's a late-period masterpiece. ~ Thom Jurek