Kenny Wayne Shepherd is a bona fide superstar of Blues/rock and with this album – his eighth – he sounds about ready to take the next step.
The album is loaded with gems, not least his stellar playing but also some fine songs and great support from his band. Vocalist Noah Hunt who has ben with him for nearly 20 years, gives the signature sound of the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band but Shepherds guitar is the driving force behind all of this album.
Right out of the gates with ‘Baby Get Gone’ he is tearing into a massive riff, machine gun drums and walloping bass with a rich keyboard in the back and all led by Hunt’s vocals; all the best features of KWSB summed up in a single tune. And that ain’t the best number on the album either!
‘Diamonds & Gold’ brings horns and harmonies, some sumptuous Blues/rock and Shepherd’s wah-wah really bringing the funk. Leading into ‘Nothing But The Night’ he finds a really eighties groove, almost Foreigner-esque, the solo really pulling notes out of the ether – this one will be an air-guitarists frenzy.
One of the best tracks is ‘She’s $$$’ – countrified with a great strut that sends you reeling across the room but my personal favourite is the deep and sultry ‘Louisiana Rain’. An homage to his home state, a beautiful ballad with real sensitivity.
Shepherd was brought up on the Blues and the tales of him learning to play Stevie Ray Vaughan riffs on an old plywood Japanese Strat copy (which he told me he still owns although it doesn’t sound much in evidence here) are all true. What is also true is that he plays his own music – no copying anyone else - and is still rising to the top
This is really the epitome of classic Blues/rock but he is taking this further with more soul and a great sense of feel. A terrific album
