Just like Larry McCray (see my review of his "Born To Play The Blues" somewhere else in this month's issue), Preston Shannon refuses to stick to the conventional Blues sound. Instead he prefers to enrich his music with his strong Soul and R&B background. The results are pretty good. "All In Time" is a great blend of electric Blues, Soul, a little bit of Jazz, and even Reggae. And it has, what for me is, a surprise cover. Well, covers for me are always a surprise, since I never read the play list of an album until I have listened to the whole thing twice. This time it's none other than "Purple Rain" by "The Cool Artist Formerly Known as Prince." Preston's version is not remarkable, but it's not bad either. I feel he uses it for shock value for his live performances. But still, it was a nice surprise.

The album as a whole leans pretty hard on the Soul side of the house. It has pretty good numbers, like "Just Between Me And My Woman" and "Wrapped Up Tied Up." "Are You In The Mood?" pushes definitely into Reggae territory. Pretty good.

Overall this is a pretty decent work of music. Not a candidate to my "Scratched CD" club, but it has its moments. Since Preston's Blues are mostly mainstream (except for the Soul edge) it will appeal to most Blues listeners; it will not be limited to diehard fans. And this is a pretty good thing, because Preston Shannon deserves the audience.