Artist: Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Title: Live! In Chicago
Genre: Blues Rock
Release date: 15th October 2010
Label: Roadrunner Records
Album Review
KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD is to blues music as JOHN 5 is to rock and heavy metal. Both are excellent guitar players, but SHEPHERD tends to give his astute performances in the studio, and on the road, with lots of living legends who are also great jazz and blues musicians. He’s been compared to the like of B.B. KING and ERIC CLAPTON, though some may consider his modern technique and sound able to surpass such forefathers. KENNY’S latest work to date is a simple live album full of old hits, but fortunately, it lives and breathes like an actual live album.
One thing that makes live albums good is audience participation and presence. And KENNY’s ‘Live! In Chicago’ really does that. Whether he’s introducing players, encouraging participation during solos and interludes, or simply the audience roaring in approval at the end and beginning of each track, the listener really feels like he or she is there at the show. All that is missing is a visual. As far as the music goes, some of the songs go as far back as his debut work from 1995 such as ‘Deja Voodoo’. One thing that new fans will notice with KENNY’S work is he can really balance the blues with a Rock’n’Roll feel to his music; some tracks are very rock-ish such as ‘King’s Highway’ with its thumping beat, and then others are straight up blues, slow and moody, such as ‘Dance For Me Girl’. And of course, there are the jazz laden tracks such as ‘Feed Me’.
Another impressive thing to note about the album is the host of musicians that KENNY has put together for this album from HUBERT SUMLIN, BUDDY FLETT, NOAH HUNT, and WILLIE SMITH amongst others… all blues players. Each artist brings something to the table in full, whether it soulful guitar, emotional vocals, heart thumping drums, or easy going keyboards combined with harmonica. Considering this entire blues opus was done at the House of Blues in Chicago, it is no wonder that KENNY found his calling to make his latest live album a mark from that place. Anyone who is a fan of modern blues will appreciate it, and even old school fans will find this to their liking. The sound quality is great, but also raw enough so this doesn’t feel like a studio album or that the band is ‘synching’ to a studio album while playing on stage.
Tracklist
01. Somehow, Somewhere Someway (4:40)
02. King’s Highway (7:04)
03. True Lies (5:57)
04. Deja Voodoo (7:05)
05. Sell My Monkey (4:18)
06. Dance For Me (5:11)
07. Baby, Don’t Say That No More (6:02)
08. Eye To Eye (6:21)
09. How Many More Years (4:34)
10. Sick And Tired (5:19)
11. Feed Me (4:50)
12. Rocking Daddy (3:57)
13. Blue On Black (5:35)
14. King Bee (4:54)
Line-up
Kenny Wayne Shepherd - guitar
Noah Hunt - vocals
Buddy Flett - guitar, vocals
Willie Smith - guitar
Bryan Lee - guitar, vocals
Riley Osbourne - keyboards
Chris Layton - drums
Tommy Shannon - bass
Scott Nelson - guitar
Website
http://www.kennywayneshepherd.net/
Cover Picture
Rating
Sound: 8
Music: 9
Total: 8.5 / 10
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