No one will accuse Steve Freund of having the greatest voice in the blues world. While Freund is an impressive guitarist, he is merely adequate as a singer. But when you're evaluating an album, it is important to look at the big picture. Taking different things into consideration -- impressive chops, adequate singing, likable songwriting -- one concludes that C for Chicago, although slightly uneven, has more plusses than minuses. Freund won't blow you away with a great voice, but he still gets his points across on enjoyable (if derivative) Chicago-style blues numbers like Everytime I Get to Drinking, Working Man, and Please Love Me (which employs Boz Scaggs as a second guitarist). One of the CD's most memorable tracks is I Love Money, a humorous account of having champagne tastes and a beer budget. Like so many blues songs that have been recorded over the years -- or, for that matter, country songs -- I Love Money manages to laugh at life's disappointments. Freund also provides a few instrumentals -- which include Mr. Jackson's Boogie and the jazz-influenced Cool Dream -- and that is a good thing because they give him a chance to really stretch out on electric guitar. Although C for Chicago is a Chicago blues album first and foremost, Freund shows his appreciation of jazz at times. And that is why he was lucky to have guitarist/singer Dave Specter produce this album. A versatile musician, Specter has one foot in the blues and the other in jazz, and he serves Freund well on this generally decent but imperfect effort. ~ Alex Henderson, Rovi

1		Please Love Me
2		"C" For Chicago
3		I Love Money
4		Wild Woman
5		Jumping At Shadows
6		Working Man
7		Forbidden Stuff
8		Pallet On The Floor
9		Highway Woman
10		38th Street Blues
11		Everytime I Get To Drinking
12		Mr. Jackson's Boogie
13		Folks Like You
14		Cool Dream