No one will accuse Steve Freund of having the greatest voice in the blues world. While Freund is an impressive guitarist, he is merely adequate as a singer. But when you're evaluating an album, it is important to look at the big picture. Taking different things into consideration - impressive chops, adequate singing, likable songwriting - one concludes that "C" for Chicago, although slightly uneven, has more plusses than minuses. Freund won't blow you away with a great voice, but he still gets his points across on enjoyable (if derivative) Chicago-style blues numbers like "Everytime I Get to Drinking," "Working Man," and "Please Love Me" (which employs Boz Scaggs as a second guitarist). One of the CD's most memorable tracks is "I Love Money," a humorous account of having champagne tastes and a beer budget…

The long established musical relationship between guitarists Dave Specter and Steve Freund goes back nearly 20 years, when Specter sought out Freund as a guitar teacher. They have shared many stages, but this marks the first occasion that they have recorded together. In the best of the Chicago blues tradition as illustrated by the legendary Delmark label, Is What It Is is a loose, swinging, tough blues date filled with great tunes, inspired playing and loose-groove vibes. While Specter has become well-known for his jazzy blues playing, his former teacher Freund has stayed close to the roots of the Chicago sound. That contrast works beautifully here on both covers and originals. Freund's tunes are some of the bets on the set as evidenced by the opener "My Little Playhouse." One of the reasons for this is his deep, clear soulful singing which adds punch and nuance to the dueling guitars Specter brings classy elegance to the set in his instrumentals, like the title track that carries a deeply Southern-fried funk to the more urban Chicago sound and the shuffling gutbucket stroll of "Riverside Ride," where the two players wind around and through one another exuberantly.