Big Plans

The second studio album by contemporary supergroup the delivers straightforward Chicago-style in an unfussy setting. The list of special guests is as long as the nine-piece band, including guest singers and , guitarist , pianist , bassists , harmonica player and saxophonist . As a result, no one singer or instrumentalist predominates, giving a sort of revue feel. The songs are mostly originals by members of the band including bandleader and slide guitarist ; while the band get points for largely avoiding the temptation to simply bash out the usual suspects, none of the album's original material sounds likely to join the canon. A fairly low-key, genial album, is considerably less than its title suggests, but it's likely enough for fans of contemporary . ~ Stewart Mason