**** Kelly Joe Phelps

ROLL AWAY THE STONE

(Rykodisc)

This album, which follows the singer/guitarist's debut on the tiny Burnside label, will probably stand as the finest country blues CD of 1997. Its original and deeply soulful blend of gospel and expert Delta-style dobro picking would have been heresy in the days of Son House, but unlike House, Phelps makes it clear he's got old Satan licked.

His deft playing and sweetly whispering voice are equally idiosyncratic. The former's full of personal tics, like burrs of noise he pulls from vibrating strings, little asides from his slide, quick licks that are masterpieces of gentle melody. The latter's like something ghostly carried over muddy flatland fields on the warm summer wind. Phelps has obviously heard the work of great Bentonia-area bluesmen like Skip James and Jack Owens, but he treats them as inspirations, not textbooks. So his songs of faith, with their purring accompaniment, sound refreshing even as they raise the banner of tradition.

(Kelly Joe Phelps plays the House of Blues this Wednesday, October 1. Call 491-BLUE.)

-- Ted Drozdowski