Shadow and Light
Listening Post 398. Keb’ Mo’s music is often hailed as both the purest distillation of the original Delta blues and also as “post-modern blues,” intertwined with strands of folk, country, soul, jazz and roots. Call it sleight of genre, layers of sounds and themes, texts and subtexts, flowing so smoothly that boundaries recede. The five-time Grammy winner’s newest work is built around concurrent physical and emotional watersheds. On tour in 2024, he experienced severe shortness of breath, caused by a leaking heart valve and an aortic aneurysm. Shortly after open-heart surgery, his 20-year marriage imploded. Echoing the dramatic turns, The Breakdown, Keb’ Mo’s 17th studio album, seemed to write its own title. “It felt like everything in my life was breaking down,” he reflects. “The only way I knew how to respond was to break the music down, too.” Of the collection’s 10 tracks, eight are just the artist’s voice and acoustic guitar. But in his masterly tones and fingers, stripping down actually builds up. The songs are intimate, tender and spiritual, forging chaos and pain into gratitude and growth. In They Don’t Make ‘Em Like They Used To he meditates on changing gender roles, though the narrative emerged from a conversation about the outdated recording technology that prompted renovation of his home studio (video 1). Fussing and Fighting focuses on a long-term relationship falling apart but also subtly suggests a divided nation searching for common ground (video 2). In Stitched Up Heart he pays tribute to the surgeon who saved his life and also channels the fallout from his broken marriage (video 3). Every Step of the Way is a hymn to life, including hard lessons that help build resilience (video 4); while Hand It Over evokes the power of faith and community (video 5). The Breakdown illuminates as much with shadows as it does with light. And as sure as Keb’ Mo’ has prodigious talent in his veins, so does the blues have Keb’ Mo’ pulsing in its heart. (Concord Records)

Keb’ Mo’: The Breakdown
Keb’ Mo’: Vocals, acoustic guitar
Featured Artists
Soweto Gospel Choir, Take 6

Note: Kevin Roosevelt Moore began his career using his given name. As he tells it, his first drummer, Quentin Dennard, started calling him Keb’ Mo’, a street-talk abbreviation he thought sounded more “bluesy.” Moore’s record label adopted the moniker which thereafter became his professional name.

They Don’t Make ‘Em Like They Used To
Lyrics & music: Kevin Moore, Zach Allen

I smell biscuits baked from scratch/Someone’s in the kitchen making a fresh batch
Grandmama, tell me what I got to do/To find me a woman that can cook like you

She said, “Those days are gone/Them days are through
They got college educations/And they ain’t gonna fix no dinner for you
Those days are over/Them days are through
Boy, you might as well face it/They just don’t make ’em like they used to”

A good woman needs a good man/You got to give her everything you can
Treat her likе a queen and the Lord’s gonna bless ya/Try to run her lifе, she ain’t gonna let ya, that’s right

‘Cause those days are gone/And them days are through
They got college educations/And they ain’t gonna fix no dinner for you
Those days are over/Them days are through
Boy, you might as well face it/They just don’t make ’em like they used to

They just don’t make ’em like they used to

It’s a new time, a new day/Women want justice, they want equal pay
Times are changing, you better know/How to cook, how to clean, and how to sew, that’s right

‘Cause those days are gone/Them days are through
They got them college educations/And they ain’t gonna fix no dinner for you
Those days are over/Yes, them days are through
So you might as well face it/They just don’t make ’em like they used to
Those days are gone/Them days are through
They got them college educations/They don’t do, they don’t do what they supposed to do
Those days are over/Them days are through
So you might as well face it/They just don’t make ’em like they used to

They don’t make ’em like they used to, yeah/No brooms, no mops, no scrub buckets
They got good jobs, they make money (More money than me)/They don’t make ’em like they used to

Fussing and Fighting
Lyrics & music:  Kevin Moore, Arthur Adams

A long time ago when we first met/We were like children, I’ll never forget
I was your main squeeze, we couldn’t get enough/We were easy to please, we had everything

But something’s changed, and I can’t do nothin’ right/We spend every hour, every day and every night

Fussin’ and fightin’ is driving me crazy/Where is the love we used to know from a long time ago?
This fussin’ and fightin’, it ain’t gonna faze me/Baby, I love you more than you know
This fussin’ and fightin’, is it ever gonna stop?/I’m givin’ you everything, everything that I got

I’m waiting for the day you and I can get along/Just like we used to, when we were going strong
A star was shining so brightly on us/But lately, it’s been a little rough

But it’s time that we had a transformation/Time to step away from a bad situation

This fussin’ and fightin’ is driving me crazy/Where is the love we used to know from a long time ago?
This fussin’ and fightin’, it ain’t gonna faze me/Baby, I love you more than you know
This fussin’ and fightin’, is it ever gonna stop?/I’m givin’ you everything, everything that I got

Let’s go back to the way it used to be/Let’s have some fun
Baby, let’s not let anything/Stand in the way of our love
Keep with me, baby

This fussin’ and fightin’, it’s making me crazy/Where is the love we used to know from a long time ago?
This fussin’ and fightin’, it ain’t gonna faze me/‘Cause, baby, I love you more than you know
This fussin’ and fightin’, is it ever gonna stop?/I’m givin’ you everything, everything that I got
I’m givin’ you everything, everything that I got/I’m givin’ you everything, everything
This fussin’ and fightin’ is driving me crazy/Where is the love we used to know from a long time ago?
This fussin’ and fightin’, it ain’t gonna faze me/Baby, I love you more than you know
This fussin’ and fightin’, is it ever gonna stop?/I’m givin’ you everything, everything that I got

Stop fussin’ and fightin’, mhm
Fussin’ and fightin’, oh

Hand It Over
Lyrics & music: Kevin Moore
Guest vocals: Soweto Gospel Choir

If your problems/Won’t go away
And you’re worried/Night and day
Hand it over/Get on your knees and pray

If you’re sick/Feeling low
Got no money/Got nowhere to go
Hand it over/Get on your knees and pray (Get on your knees and pray)

Hand it over (Hand it over)/Hand it over (Hand it over)
Give it up, give it over (Give it over)/Hand it over
Get on your knees and pray (Get on your knees and pray)

Ain’t no mountain you can’t climb/No answer you can’t find
All you need is a hand to hold/It’ll heal your body and feed your soul
And if the road is dark/And you can’t find your way
Let the spirit light the way/Hand it over
Get on your knees and pray (Get on your knees and pray)

Hand it over (Hand it over)/Hand it over (Hand it over)
Give it up, give it over (Give it over)
Hand it over/Get on your knees and pray (Get on your knees and pray)
Hand it over (Hand it over)/Hand it over (Hand it over)
Give it up, give it over (Give it over)
Hand it over/Get on your knees and pray (Get on your knees and pray)
Hand it over/Get on your knees and pray (Get on your knees and pray)
Hand it over/Get on your knees and pray (Get on your knees and pray)