New Orleans-based funk powerhouse Captain Green’s “The Mack” is a short, sweet, grooving gem.
The three-track single marks the first official release from the collaboration of Captain Green and preeminent soul vocalist, former “American Idol” participant and Gonzales native Jovin Webb.
Released Mar. 20, 2020, the single is but a brief taste of the combined prowess of Captain Green and Webb, tantalizing listeners with just 13 ½ minutes of tight instrumental performance and stunning vocals.
The title track kicks things off, and boy does it groove. Crisp drum tone, wah-pedal groove riffs on the guitar, classic organ-tone keys, an uber-tight horn line and, of course, Webb’s powerful, wailing voice make “The Mack” a hard-funking banger, all sealed by a fiery guitar solo to close out the track.
Then we come to “Broken,” a soulful ballad that is at the same time its own stunning composition and a proper homage to the Soul R&B legends of old, the Otis Reddings and the Sam Cookes. But despite its similarity to golden-age Soul music, there is a crispness to this tune that invigorates its classic characteristics with a very current and very relevant flavor.  
And closing out the single we have “Hold You,” a dance-y, upbeat love song and what I consider the most developed of the three tracks. The instrumental composition on this one is stellar, possibly even more so than one would expect from the level of musicianship that Captain Green has made its standard. It’s clean, focused, but not without its own subtle variations in rhythm and harmony—nothing so unusual as to make it a challenge to listen to, but just enough to keep things flavorful.
Among many things, “The Mack” is a tantalizing glimpse at the collaborative artistry of Captain Green and Webb. Though neither the band nor Webb have announced any future releases of this sort, one can only hope “The Mack” is the first of many.