"I just wanted to be honest about everything, from my musical influences to my story," muses Neal Francis.

After years of dishonest living - consumed by drugs, alcohol, and addiction - such sincerity is jarring from the 30-year-old Chicago-based musician.

Liberated from a self-destructive past and born anew in sobriety, Francis has captured an inspired collection of songs steeped in New Orleans rhythms, Chicago blues, and early 70s rock n' roll.

There is a deep connection between Francis's childhood - his obsession with boogie woogie piano, his father's gift of a dusty Dr.

John LP - and the songs he's created. The result is an astonishing collection of material without parallel in the contemporary funk and soul scene.

The influences are unmistakable: the vocal stylings of Allen Toussaint and Leon Russell; the second line rhythms of The Meters and Dr.

John; the barroom rock 'n' roll of The Rolling Stones; the gospel soul of Billy Preston; the roots music of The Band.

Francis pays tribute to the masters but has his own story to tell: "It's the life I've lived so far."