In 2005, Atlanta blues man Tinsley Ellis said his "Live -- Highwayman" album was "the most rocking, most guitar-driven CD I've ever made."

Ellis was in a similar mood in 2007 when he released "Moment of Truth," a work packed with Hendrix-like wah-wah, Cream-sized riffs and rockin' boogie.

The singer-guitarist is back with his newest album, "Speak No Evil," on Alligator Records. And his press kit is touting it as -- you guessed it -- "the most guitar-driven album" of his career.

Ellis will headline a benefit concert for the American Cancer Society on March 21 at the Beachside Tavern, 690 E. Third Ave., New Smyrna Beach.

The lineup includes the Pickin' Kind at 2 p.m., Coyotes and Towndogs at 5 p.m. and Ellis at approximately 7 p.m.

Admission is free but donations will be accepted to benefit the American Cancer Society. Barbecue will be on sale at the event. For more information, call 386-424-8282.

Ellis first came to the attention of Alligator Records after sending the label a tape of his music in the late 1980s. "I hadn't heard Tinsley before, but he played like the guys with huge international reputations," said Alligator producer Bruce Iglauer. "It wasn't just his raw power. It was his taste and maturity that got to me. It had the power of rock but felt like the blues."

The result was Ellis' first album on Alligator, "Georgia Blue, " released in 1988. Ellis released four other albums on Alligator before switching labels seven years ago, then returning to Alligator with "Live -- Highwayman."

"Speak No Evil" again finds Ellis conjuring Cream- and Hendrix-styled, wah-wah-soaked heaviness on such tracks as "Amanda," "Sunlight of Love" and "The Night Is Easy," and stomp-infested, bluesy riff rock on ""Grow a Pair" and "The Other Side."

Photo: Flournoy Holmes