When you pop John Nemeth's Name the Day into your CD player, the opening band chords are likely to make you think you've slipped in a Solomon Burke disc by mistake. A strong horn-driven Memphis and Muscle Shoals-type soul band accompanies Nemeth on this disc, and their playing moves like a NASCAR driver in the midst of a record-setting lap. Nemeth's voice fits into the mix perfectly, the tires on the car, and when he goes into the harp solo, you know you've come home.

Here's the deal: Nemeth has got it all. Back in the 1960s and '70s, he would have been a major mainstream star on the order of Otis Redding, Little Milton or Ray Charles. On "Tuff Girl," he even shows a little '50s touch and pulls it off without sinking into sentimentality.

Most of the CD is up-tempo, but when Nemeth bites into a ballad, as on "I Said Too Much," he wrings it for maximum sadness. The man's at home with all of the forms of blues and soul music but he's not a retro artist. What Nemeth does so well is to bring a modern twist to traditional forms, showing us exactly how much really important stuff is in the music.