BLUES IS `STANDING AT THE CROSSROADS' : OLDER SINGERS NEED TO PASS THE TORCH, BUT WILL ANYBODY BE READY TO TAKE IT?

Byline: Steve Knopper Knight-Ridder Tribune News Wire

Blues has hit its latest crossroads, so to speak. John Lee Hooker wondered publicly, in a Billboard magazine cover story, where the Next Big Blues Thing will come from. ``Ain't none left now of the real deep blues singers,'' he said. ``Well, B.B. (King) - we're about the only two left ... ``

Hooker has a point. As soon as they go, there's nobody left to recall the days when disenfranchised African-American musicians from the Mississippi Delta moved up north to Chicago. Meanwhile, blues' image has a higher profile than ever, judging from Buddy Guy's big-time Reebok commercial spots and the House of Blues chain's overwhelming financial success.

Which blues artist will rush in to become the next superstar? Handicapping the possibilities:

Keb' Mo': He's a nice guy with a good voice and the right sources - he covered three Robert Johnson songs on two albums. At a packed House of Blues show in Chicago last week, he stumbled for the first few songs with his clunky rock band, then quickly redeemed himself during the acoustic set. Keb' Mo', whose secret identity is 45-year-old Kevin Moore, regained command of the crowd and, on the funny ``Love Yourself'' and the clap-along ``She Just Wants to Dance,'' showed off the soulful nuances of his voice.

But he doesn't even try for legendary Delta bluesman Johnson's intense, morbid passion. Instead, some of his too-smooth songs sound more like Bonnie Raitt's early-'90s hits - blues with all the rough edges sanded smooth. ``Just Like You,'' the gospel-influenced title track of his 1996 album, screams adult-contemporary. I like him, though, and he'd really do a service if he opened the door for his similar-sounding colleagues, Rory Block, John Hammond Jr. and Chris Smither.

Luther Allison: He left America to play in Europe for almost two decades, then returned a few years ago. An outstanding guitarist, Allison cleaned up at the W.C. Handy Awards last year. His approach isn't particularly fresh, in that he stretches out 12-bar songs to accommodate his lengthy guitar solos. But, with the possible exceptions of Chicagoans Buddy Guy and Otis Rush, he's the best at it. He'll ride with the overall blues industry's popularity - if it explodes onto television and makes big bucks, like country music, Allison will be a figurehead. If it stays below the media surface, which is likely, he'll remain a cult figure.

Kenny Wayne Shepherd: Fast fingers, boring songs. Give this hot-selling teen-ager another decade to learn the beauty of restraint.

Stevie Ray Vaughan:. Yes, he's dead. That didn't stop Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix or the Beatles from smash success. Truth is, Vaughan's ghost continues to haunt the blues industry - youngsters such as Shepherd and Jonny Lang are copying him, and savvy marketers such as Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton and Luther Allison have realized the money's in playing long, loud guitar solos. To a big portion of people buying blues albums and attending blues shows, Vaughan is the blues and that's that.

Eric Clapton, Robert Cray and Bonnie Raitt: Clapton and Cray have recently retreated to the comfortable world of the blues - there's less pressure there than in pop, and let's face it, the songs are easier to think up and play. And I bet a Raitt all-blues album, like the softer stuff she did in the '70s, isn't far off. Unfortunately, for these three artists, their finest creative inspiration is far behind them - even Clapton supporters have to admit that ``Change the World'' isn't nearly as groundbreaking as the masterful-guitar bar-blues on ``Layla.'' Cray's recent blues work is nice, but hasn't come close to matching his landmark 1986 album ``Strong Persuader.''

Buddy Guy: He's the world's most recognizable living bluesman after King and Hooker. Like them, he has never changed his style. Since 1991's Grammy-winning ``Damn Right, I've Got the Blues,'' though, his albums have recently started living up to his live reputation. And his marketing has become top-notch. This veteran Chicago guitarist may not be the future of the blues, but he'll continue to be a smiling ambassador between past and present.

Jonny Lang: You're not going to believe this: Lang, the 16-year-old singer-guitarist whose ``Lie to Me'' album recently debuted at No. 154 on the pop charts, sounds like Stevie Ray Vaughan. He sings and plays predictable standards, including ``Good Morning, Little Schoolgirl'' and ``Matchbox,'' in a predictable voice with predictable guitar solos.

His career hit a snag last week when Chicago's House of Blues, an over-21 nightclub, announced he had to cancel his upcoming show because he's underage. Prediction: The resulting publicity from that controversy will give him far more attention than the show ever would have.

Thornetta Davis: The Detroit r&b singer's new debut album, ``Sunday Morning Music,'' is more of a bluesy experiment than a bona fide blues project. She enlisted members of Big Chief, a Detroit-based loud-guitar rock 'n' roll band, to back up her crooning. This odd pairing earned her a contract with Seattle-based Sub Pop Records, one-time home of grunge heroes Nirvana and Soundgarden.

I list this album not because of its great music - the opening ``Cry'' has a great groove, but the overblown funk starts to plod after that - but because I like the concept. Too many blues performers operate exclusively in the blues industry, playing the same clubs, hiring the same sidemen, recording for the same labels, even rehashing the same old songs. Davis and Big Chief hint that the future is in stepping outside the boundaries.

Preacher Boy and Popa Chubby: These two gravelly voiced young singers have made explosive albums that sound more like Tom Waits than Albert King. They both play straight 12-bar blues, but with a snarling attitude and sense of humor that recalls old Howlin' Wolf and Elmore James. Preacher Boy's songs are stronger, and Chubby's the better guitarist. Long shots, unfortunately.

R.L. Burnside: Weirdly, Burnside's '90s surge into national renown came because nobody outside Mississippi had ever heard of him. The Delta bluesman had been singing his raw songs at Southern juke joints and house parties before music critic Robert Palmer featured him on the ``Deep Blues'' documentary and soundtrack. Since then, Burnside's albums have been fresh and consistent, peaking with 1995's ``Too Bad Jim.'' It's probably too late for him to reach, say, Hooker's level of fame, but he and colleague Junior Kimbrough are responsible for injecting passion back into a coasting musical tradition.

Jon Spencer: Does punk rock fit with blues? Yes, if it's done right - Iggy Pop, the Rolling Stones and PJ Harvey can attest to this. Spencer's albums, including last year's ``Now I Got Worry'' and his fantastic collaboration with Burnside, have improved since his early unfocused shrieking and repetitive hipster jargon. But I'm still waiting for somebody else to come along and do the same thing better.

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2 Photos

Photo: (1) John Lee Hooker is one of the few blues singers left who is linked to the touchstone Mississippi Delta and Chicago blues movements.

(2) Blues singer and guitarist Keb' Mo' works well in an acoustic setting but lacks the intensity of the older singers.