Back in the Game (Syl Johnson album)

On the majority of its tracks, the album marked a reunion between Johnson and the Hi Rhythm Section.[10] It was produced by Pete Nathan.[11] Johnson duets with his daughter Syleena on "Dipped in the Water".[3] Back in the Game contains covers of Magic Sam's "All Your Love" and Little Junior Parker's version of "Driving Wheel".[12]

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote that Johnson's "vocals swoop, charge, lunge, and bark with all the mastery of a classic soul singer, but his songs are rarely melodically complex, nor do they develop linearly."[13] The Chicago Tribune called the album "a stunning return to form," writing that "Johnson's voice is still a piercing, bittersweet instrument and his guitar-playing remains tersely eloquent"; the paper later listed Back in the Game as the second best contemporary blues album of 1994.[3][14] The Washington Post thought that it "shows [Johnson's] funky blues and soul skills remain surprisingly intact, as does the sinewy sensuality of his vocals."[15] Deeming the music Chicago R&B, the Chicago Sun-Times wrote that the album "showcases the intrinsic charms of the form, recalling the days when R&B record companies like One-derful, Brunswick and Vee-Jay flourished on South Michigan Avenue."[16]

AllMusic wrote that "although the Chicagoan moves into 12-bar blues territory on 'All of Your Love' and Roosevelt Sykes' 'Driving Wheel', it must be stressed that the majority of songs on this album are soul rather than blues."[2] MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide opined that the album "may contain the best version of the much-recorded Al Green song 'Take Me to the River'."[5]

• Syl Johnson - vocals, guitar, harmonica
• Howard Grimes - drums
• Charles Hodges - piano, organ
• Fred Hodges - organ, piano
• Leroy Hodges - bass
• Teenie Hodges - guitar