For Real is another strong soul/blues cocktail served up by
Little Milton, although it runs a bit heavy in the ballad department. Granted,
Milton is plenty versatile enough to adopt the sentimental croon required to cover "To Love Somebody" and "A Rainy Night in Georgia," but he's really at his best when he's tearing into the blues with a guitar in his hands. Two slow blues numbers steal the show here: "Blues for Mr. C," which is a straightforward 12-bar burner, and "If That's What You Wanna Do," which rides a slicker, urban groove in the circa-'70s
Albert King tradition. (These two songs are the only originals on the entire album.) The more upbeat R&B material on
For Real generally hits its mark, albeit with a thick coat of production polish that could have used some thinning out. Not exactly the cream of the crop of his work on Malaco, but this album gets the job done. ~ Ken Chang