Recording an entire album’s worth of blues guitar instrumentals, and keeping the listener engaged, is an exceedingly difficult thing to do. Freddie King could do it. So could Albert Collins, Ike Turner, Earl Hooker and I’ll bet “Gatemouth” Brown could have if he set his mind to it. Granted, there’s some noodling here as the titles “Happy,” “Patience” and “Miracle” might well allude to, but Earl does an admirable job.

Spread the Love starts out sharp with a rendering of Albert Collins’ classic Texas shuffle “Backstroke,” which Earl translates well. One of the highlights here is “Spann’s Groove,” a quasi-tribute to Muddy Waters’ longtime piano player, Otis Spann. There are several “deep” instrumentals here, including “Blues for Dr. Donna” and “Tommy’s Midnight Blues,” but Earl’s got a lighter side as demonstrated on “Chitlins Con Carne.” This CD is going to have a limited audience, but if you have an ear for instrumental blues, Spread the Love should grab your attention.