For whatever reason – it just sounds good, I guess – Jonny Lang would have you believe that he has stretched beyond the blues since his dramatic 1997 major-label debut, Lie to Me. But anyone familiar with that album and its follow-up, Wander This World, would have a hard time distinguishing between them. On Lie to Me, his blues were already laced with healthy doses of soul and R&B, and they continue to be.

The seventeen-year-old Lang, there can be no doubt, is a certifiable prodigy. His guitar playing is at once precocious and ferocious, a fevered attack reminiscent of the late Luther Allison (whose "Cherry Red Wine" Lang incinerates to close this set). On the downside, Lang still oversings at just about every moment. Of course, trying to sound meaner, older, blacker than you are has been a flaw of the white-boy blues since back in the day – Clapton was guilty of it as recently as From the Cradle.

Lang co-wrote three of the tunes on Wander, and they're good ones. The seething ballad "Walking Away" is particularly strong. Lang leans into it with all his might, and the song withstands his assault – which too little of his material is able to do. As a result, you tend to find yourself waiting for the solos, and they never disappoint. Really, as a player, Lang is simply frightening. And if an equally expressive voice – as a writer, as a singer – is yet to come to his young-man blues, he's got plenty of time to burn. (RS 800)

ANTHONY DECURTIS