If you need proof of the way that major labels influence their artists in hopes of a radio single, then look no further than Eli Paperboy Reed, a blues and gospel musician who has finally unleashed the gritty album he apparently always had in him. My Way Home is Reed’s first effort since his 2014 Warner Bros album Nights Like This and it feels unabashed and loose, the sort of thing that sounds like it was recorded live in a dingy nightclub. Reed, who teaches gospel music in Harlem, has created 11 tracks of stomping, bluesymusic that shimmer even without any slick pop polish. “Movin’” and “My Way Home” are jazzy ballads, full of soul and grime, and Reed is clearly more interested in sincerity of expression than perfection of sound. His voice comes most buoyantly on “I’d Rather be Alone,” a proper gospel number on which Reed howls, “I’d rather be alone in this world of sin/ than surround myself with sinners that won’t be saved.” For Reed, the album is about salvation, although not necessarily in the religious sense, and that sentiment reveals itself through the songs, which truly do transcend you to another place. There’s not a radio single to be found anywhere on My Way Home, a testament to Reed’s willingness to test new sonic waters and not stick to the industry formula. The album’s one downside? It will surely be better live than on your stereo.