But who needs ornamentation when blues like "Timetaker," "I Just Wanna Die," and "Point of No Return" discuss the underlying meaning of life and death and fate in language both philosophically intelligent and eye-witness blunt? It's hard not to follow the classic ethical questions posed by "Open Minded," "Hold It Down" and "Blind Leading the Blind" -- about justice, selfishness, and obeying authority -- all the way to some ultimate answers when the discussion's carried forward by beats as roomy as free will and rhythms that shove and growl like cause and effect. Hard, too, not to applaud the skepticism these defiant souls direct at both the NAACP and the Million Man March.

-- Michael Freedberg