Kenny Wayne Shepherd – Dirt On My Diamonds Volume 2
Last year Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s twelfth solo album Dirt On My Diamonds Volume 1 received rave reviews (including being chosen as FabricationsHQ's Blues Rock Album Of The Year).
Volume 2, the slightly shorter (its 8 tracks span 31 minutes) companion piece to Volume 1 ("You’ll hear the same spirit across both albums, but the songs, sounds and grooves are very different" – KWS) deserves similar accolades.
Nor does it hurt that outside of Shepherd's six-string chops (he’s also singing better than ever), he also has a great band – long-time music partner Noah Hunt (lead vocals on four numbers, rhythm guitar, percussion), Chris Layton (drums), Kevin McCormick (bass) and Joe Krown (keys).
Volume 2 gets off to a strong start with the insistent, Stevie Ray Vaughan-esque riffing of 'I Got a Woman,' which features a title-chorus that just invites singalong.
KWS, on lead vocal, drives the horn-backed song along before the solo section after the second chorus dazzles with bluesy technique (not for the last time).
'The Middle' sits four-square in mid-tempo Bonamassa territory (indeed the lead vocals from Noah Hunt have a touch of JoBo), but here underpinned with an effective funk feel.
Sporting another killer and "woah-oh" introduced hook chorus, 'The Middle' features added horn parts, tasteful keys/Hammond, an adept middle 8 section and a wah-wah/ envelope filter solo, which perfectly complements the funky feel.
'My Guitar is Crying' is, title unsurprisingly, a slow tempo ballad (and a relatively short one at only three-and-a-half minutes), which features genuinely emotive solo sections.
As a relatively restrained number you can argue that it could have been improved if KWS had cut loose on one of said solo parts, but it does bring tasteful contrast to proceedings after the up-tempo opening brace.
Kicking the amps back up is 'Long Way Down,' an impressive and swaggering mid-tempo rock-blues that features Noah Hunt on vocals, a guitar/horns unison part and a solo from KWS that builds and impresses. It’s also a song crying out rock radio airplay.
Even more radio friendly is 'I Never Made It To Memphis,' which carries a heavy Americana rock influence. Another singalong number complete with some sassy female backing vocals, the song also features yet another excellent bluesy guitar solo from KWS.
'Watch You Go' is cut straight from the traditional 12 bar, rhythm and Chicago blues template.
Here however the horn section and piano parts provide effective counterpoints, while the middle 8 again impresses, as does the highly-effected solo part.
'Pressure,' which reintroduces the funk quotient, is (horn section aside), reminiscent of early ZZ Top and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
KWS delivers a particularly good vocal part in this song before delivering a solo that fits the song’s vibe perfectly (he also gives the band the space to express themselves in this number).
Towards song’s end KWS delivers yet another killer solo.
The album closes out with the horns swinging, guitar crying, shuffle beat sounds of ZZ Top’s 'She Loves My Automobile.'
The multi-platinum, Grammy nominated Kenny Wayne Shepherd already has the rep (particularly back home in the US) but this brace of Diamonds, released within a tenth month period, should reinforce, if not further elevate, his position as a respected and highly proficient blues guitarist/ songwriter/ singer.
Nelson McFarlane
FabricationsHQ
Dirt On My Diamonds Volume 2 will be released via Mascot/Provogue Records on 20th September.
Pre-order the CD here. Pre-order Blue Marble Vinyl edition here.
Volume 2, the slightly shorter (its 8 tracks span 31 minutes) companion piece to Volume 1 ("You’ll hear the same spirit across both albums, but the songs, sounds and grooves are very different" – KWS) deserves similar accolades.
Nor does it hurt that outside of Shepherd's six-string chops (he’s also singing better than ever), he also has a great band – long-time music partner Noah Hunt (lead vocals on four numbers, rhythm guitar, percussion), Chris Layton (drums), Kevin McCormick (bass) and Joe Krown (keys).
Volume 2 gets off to a strong start with the insistent, Stevie Ray Vaughan-esque riffing of 'I Got a Woman,' which features a title-chorus that just invites singalong.
KWS, on lead vocal, drives the horn-backed song along before the solo section after the second chorus dazzles with bluesy technique (not for the last time).
'The Middle' sits four-square in mid-tempo Bonamassa territory (indeed the lead vocals from Noah Hunt have a touch of JoBo), but here underpinned with an effective funk feel.
Sporting another killer and "woah-oh" introduced hook chorus, 'The Middle' features added horn parts, tasteful keys/Hammond, an adept middle 8 section and a wah-wah/ envelope filter solo, which perfectly complements the funky feel.
'My Guitar is Crying' is, title unsurprisingly, a slow tempo ballad (and a relatively short one at only three-and-a-half minutes), which features genuinely emotive solo sections.
As a relatively restrained number you can argue that it could have been improved if KWS had cut loose on one of said solo parts, but it does bring tasteful contrast to proceedings after the up-tempo opening brace.
Kicking the amps back up is 'Long Way Down,' an impressive and swaggering mid-tempo rock-blues that features Noah Hunt on vocals, a guitar/horns unison part and a solo from KWS that builds and impresses. It’s also a song crying out rock radio airplay.
Even more radio friendly is 'I Never Made It To Memphis,' which carries a heavy Americana rock influence. Another singalong number complete with some sassy female backing vocals, the song also features yet another excellent bluesy guitar solo from KWS.
'Watch You Go' is cut straight from the traditional 12 bar, rhythm and Chicago blues template.
Here however the horn section and piano parts provide effective counterpoints, while the middle 8 again impresses, as does the highly-effected solo part.
'Pressure,' which reintroduces the funk quotient, is (horn section aside), reminiscent of early ZZ Top and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
KWS delivers a particularly good vocal part in this song before delivering a solo that fits the song’s vibe perfectly (he also gives the band the space to express themselves in this number).
Towards song’s end KWS delivers yet another killer solo.
The album closes out with the horns swinging, guitar crying, shuffle beat sounds of ZZ Top’s 'She Loves My Automobile.'
The multi-platinum, Grammy nominated Kenny Wayne Shepherd already has the rep (particularly back home in the US) but this brace of Diamonds, released within a tenth month period, should reinforce, if not further elevate, his position as a respected and highly proficient blues guitarist/ songwriter/ singer.
Nelson McFarlane
FabricationsHQ
Dirt On My Diamonds Volume 2 will be released via Mascot/Provogue Records on 20th September.
Pre-order the CD here. Pre-order Blue Marble Vinyl edition here.