Robben Ford + Warren Haynes, “High Heels and Throwing Things” (2015): One Track Mind

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For all of the intrigue surrounding a musical coupling of Robben Ford and Warren Haynes, the worry has to be that it might be run aground by simply being too busy. These two are, of course, as blues steeped as they are stupefyingly talented. But who really needs another guitar battle disguised as a new song?

“High Heels and Throwing Things,” the lead single from Robben Ford’s forthcoming Into the Sun, is anything but that. Instead, the song unfolds with a spacious attention to groove and feel, rather than as an eruptive outburst. It’s more like old friends sharing smartly interwoven anecdotes, each building on the other, with one thought flowing seamlessly into another.

That bodes well for a project that also features guest shots by Keb Mo and Robert Randolph (“Justified”), and Sonny Landreth (“So Long 4 U”), among others. Into the Sun, which follows Ford’s superlative 2014 project A Day in Nashville, is due March 31, 2014 via Mascot Label Group.

Of course, Robben Ford is no stranger to nearby star power. Having already sat in with the likes of Miles Davis, George Harrison, Joni Mitchell and even Kiss, Ford has learned when to leap forward, and when to lean back. Robben Ford brings all of that canny sense of craft to “High Heels and Throwing Things,” even as he — once again — more than holds his own when it’s time to shine.

Nick DeRiso