Johnny J. is best known for rockin’ blues and rockabilly, whether with Johnny J. and the Hitmen or, more recently, Them Taggert Boys. Urban Soul Ballads is a slight departure for him, with songs more concerned with melodic development than moving a crowd. Lyrically, the songs don’t all work. “The Broken Half of a Some Day Dream” and “Lavender Sky” are a little too vague as they aspire to profundity, but when he keeps two feet on the ground—“If You Ain’t Got Love,” for example—Johnny J. cuts to the chase with a working class impatience for frou-frou.

J. may dally with more involved song structures, but he regularly returns to familiar territory. “Good for You” opens with the heavily reverbed Telecaster that has become his sonic signature, and “Funny” is a shuffling blues, albeit one augmented by a horn section. It’s easy to imagine him playing “What You Get Done” with the Hitmen or Them Taggert Boys, though the song really benefits from being filled out with horns and Hammond B3 organ. In general, it’s nice to hear Johnny J. working with an expanded musical palate and stretching musically.