ARTIST: Robert Bradley’s Blackwater Surprise 
TITLE: Robert Bradley’s Blackwater Surprise
YEAR RELEASED: 1996
CHART ACTION: None
SINGLES: Bellybone
OTHER SONGS YOU MAY KNOW: None
LINEUP: Robert Bradley, Andrew Nehra, Michael Nehra, Jeff Fowlkes with help from Jimmy Bones and Ed Hawrysch
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT: Hipsters add a blind street singer to their band, and get a little traction thanks to one outstanding track.
SOME WORDS, PHRASES AND CLAUSES ABOUT THIS RECORD: A hipster 90’s group heard a street singer, and invited him into the band. Adding Robert Bradley, who was singing on the streets of Detroit for years, helped the group get bookings, popularity, and then a contract.
The resulting album showed that Bradley really has the chops to sing professionally, and some of his performances rise above the material and the playing. “Bellybone” is a track that turns heads, though. It’s a simple blues groove that Bradley makes his own, especially as the song goes to the chorus and the bridge.
The rest of the tracks range from so-so to decent, and Bradley gives his all. The band is kind of generic, really, and the material is slight at times. “Bellybone”, though, that’s a must-have.
NOTES & MINUTIAE: The name of the band was Second Self, and they met Bradley in 1994.
IS THERE A DELUXE VERSION: One bonus track on the CD.
GRADE: B-: I wouldn’t even think about having this except for “Bellybone”.
But Is It Any Good? 