Consumer Guide Album

Delaney & Bonnie & Friends: To Bonnie from Delaney [Atco, 1970]
The all-their-records-sound-the-same putdowns can only mean no one is really listening. D&B's singing has always been subtler than its framework, and their framework has never been more understated than here, though a couple of mediocre songs and too many sustained-climax gimmicks do put a crimp in. Delaney sounds best when reminding us that he owes more to John Hurt than to Otis Redding, while Bonnie peaks with new humor ("Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean") and passion ("The Love of My Man"). A-