With Number 3 Monkey, Neal Black & The Healers deliver a blues-rock record that feels road-tested, lived-in, and fully connected to the roots that shaped Neal Black’s sound. The album brings together twelve tracks, ten of them Neal Black originals, alongside two classic blues covers — Skip James’ “Devil Got My Woman” and Robert Wilkins’ “No Way To Get Along.” Recorded during a break in the band’s latest European tour, in studios in France and Belgium, the record blends fiery electric guitar, acoustic slide textures, a deep groove, and Black’s unmistakably smoky voice into a sound that is both raw and seasoned.

One of the album’s most fascinating moments is “Lights Of Fifolet,” a track that stands out for its darker, more atmospheric mood. Reviewers have described it as one of the album’s more mysterious pieces, with an almost swamp-blues feeling that evokes the haunted landscapes of the American South.

The title itself adds another layer of intrigue. The fifolet — also known as feufollet in Louisiana folklore — refers to eerie wandering lights seen over swamps and marshes, similar to the will-o’-the-wisp. In different tellings, these lights are described as swamp spirits, tricksters, lost souls, or signs of hidden treasure; in more rational explanations, they are linked to phosphorescent swamp gas. That legend gives “Lights Of Fifolet” an especially evocative pull: it suggests mystery, danger, seduction, and the strange beauty of chasing something you can never quite explain.

Overall, Number 3 Monkey is not about studio polish or fashionable reinvention. It is about conviction, tone, groove, and storytelling — the qualities Neal Black has built his reputation on for decades. It is an album that sounds like the open road, late-night clubs, and the enduring power of blues played with real authority.

Neal Black is a Texas-born blues-rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter from San Antonio, with a career spanning more than three decades. His music is rooted in Texas blues tradition, but his reputation has been built on blending blues, rock, and roots music into a personal, high-energy style that one critic dubbed “The Master of High Voltage Texas Boogie.” Over the years, he has performed internationally, worked with major blues and rock figures, and released a long run of albums that have earned strong recognition in Europe and beyond.

For Number 3 Monkey, Neal Black is joined by The Healers — with Mike Lattrell on piano, Denis Palatin on drums, and Abder Benachour on bass — plus guests including Nico Wayne Toussaint on harmonica, Janet Martin on acoustic guitar, and Flo Bauer on guitar. Together, they give the album the feel of a genuine blues all-stars session while keeping Neal Black’s voice and guitar at the center of the sound.