It’s erroneous to characterize this 2008 Buddy Guy release, his first in three years, as   a comeback, since he’s never been gone. But between a spotlight stealing performance in   Martin Scorsese’s  Rolling Stones concert flickShine a Lightin the same year and   the appearance ofSkin Deep, Guy has returned to the crossover arena as the   magnetic and dynamic blues journeyman he has always been. Drop the laser anywhere on   these dozen tunes, all but five authored or co-penned by the Chicago guitarist, and it’s   like a blast of hot wind in the face. Even with drummer Tom Hambrige’s somewhat slick   production, Guy is in your face, spitting out words with strutting swagger and peeling   off molten licks that leave smoldering scars. Guests such as Derek Trucks and Eric   Clapton seem like an afterthought, yet the former’s sensitive slide work on the titular   ballad brings a crying gospel quality to the song. Trucks’ wife, Susan Tedeschi, makes a   vibrant vocal foil on the mid-tempo "Too Many Tears," an obvious single. Roots guitar   fans will thrill at the six-string intensity of the ferocious slow blues "Out in the   Woods" where Guy unleashes torrents of raw sound that make this disc so consistently   riveting and a highlight in the legend’s extensive catalog.--Hal Horowitz