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*JEB LOY NICHOLS Just What Time It Is (Ryko) Rating: NNNN
Jeb Loy Nichols is a versatile Yank with a tendency to pop up in far-flung locales across the globe — England, Jamaica, Missouri — just in time to catch a crucial wave that he then pours back into his music. Just What Time It Is bears as many stamps as the peripatetic former On-U Sound posse member’s passport. Just as you’re thinking Nichols is some kind of Rastafarian with twin reggae and bluegrass obsessions and a fondness for triphop, in marches a straight, soulful ballad that’s more Al Green than Bill Monroe. Nichols’s greatest strength may be his willingness to fully embrace one style in one song with no regard for what follows. That makes Just What Time It Is a dazzling ride, even if it sometimes feels like Nichols is channelling James Taylor. Hey, could do worse.KH
