Eli Paperboy Reed blends soul and gospel into a style Chris Ingalls called “garage soul” on his latest album My Way Home. Moving away from pop into roots music suits Reed to a tee as he benefits from a strong, passionate voice positively dripping with soul and an incendiary performance style that leaves crowds in awe. Reed tells PopMatters that “’My Way Home’ was the first song [he] wrote for this album and it really helped reveal the direction the rest of the record was going to take and what [he] wanted to get across both musically and emotionally.” That’s readily apparent as the title song builds to a moving finish that will slay soul freaks. Like Mike Farris, Reed keeps the rock ‘n’ roll energy in his music and he’s grown into a consummate artist that’ll thrill audiences for many, many years.