"Suitcase" is another frustratingly uneven outing for Keb' Mo' [ tickets ]. There are times on the disc when Mo' sounds like one of the best blues singers on the planet. In other moments, he sounds as if he's being paid by the hour to sing jingles for TV commercials.

On the plus side of the scale, the singer's voice is as warm as hot fudge on the gooey, sweet, lead-off track, "Your Love." The song is simple, yet grand, as Mo' convincingly conveys what it feels like to be amazed by one's own love for another.

Then Mo' moves directly from crooning about the kind of love championed in Hallmark cards to fretting over the type of love discussed in 12-step programs on "The Itch." What's impressive is that he's equally good in both situations. While "Your Love" comes across almost like a lullaby, "The Itch" is a classic blues tune that paints a sad picture of a man addicted to doomed relationships and bad love.

Unfortunately, Mo' seems to hit cruise control after the CD's third track, "Eileen." Bland pop-blues numbers like "Rita" and "Still There for Me" don't really offer much and are highly forgettable.

Those tunes, however, are vastly superior to the overly indulgent ballad "I'm a Hero." The CD's single worst song is "Remain Silent," which features--I kid you not--Mo' reading some woman her rights.

That's the type of baggage that makes this "Suitcase" so frustrating.