It is easy to understand why the American Guitar Maestro and singer/songwriter Kenny Wayne Shepherd wanted to split into two separate musical entities a highly successful project like his latest, called Dirt On My Diamonds.
After the many praises received by press and fans, following last year’s release of the Vol.1 of the project, Shepherd and his band had clearly in their minds that the time was right to release the second half of Dirt On My Diamonds, given also the enthusiastic receptions showed by every crowd that attended the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band’s latest Tour, in support of the Volume 1 of the album.
Since the release of Lay It On Down, Shepherd’s 2017 studio album, it feels like the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band’s music style has shifted in a slightly wider sonic direction, in our opinion, where genres like Blues, Rock, R&B and Soul are aptly chosen, from time to time, to wrap in the best way the new songs of Shepherd’s latter part of his career so far, in comparison to the trademark Blues/Rock sound of the earlier days of Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s career.
The choice of opting for a more 4-minutes, more traditional song format, in later years, has also benefitted the overall quality of Shepherd’s later albums, where perhaps longer guitar solos, although of enormous quality, have been now replaced by shorter but still very well calibrated and brilliant sounding guitar passages, with a bit more emphasis on anthemic choruses and bridges and choosing to add a wider breathing space to the Horn Section, the latter being a welcomed addition in Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s musical growth.
Dirt On My Diamonds Vol.2, among numerous moments of lyrical and musical brilliancy, confirms also, once again, the quality of Shepherd’s whole project already displayed on the Vol.1 of the DOMD album, through 7 originals and 1 cover of ZZ Top’s She Loves My Automobile, where Shepherd and his exceptional band nail another triumphant set of excellently crafted songs.
Although every song carries a different flavors to itself, what remains constant is the power, the energy, that sense of a well-oiled music-making machine that work in such an organic and dynamic way at every point of the record.
While Shepherd’s new songs don’t miss a beat in every number included in the album, there are a couple of tracks, in particular, that shone above all, in our view, within another inspired musical chapter of Shepherd’s career.
The song Pressure shows another diverse angle of the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band, especially sonically speaking; half Funky, half R&B, the tune sees the whole band working in perfect unison, between Chris Layton’s unstoppable drumming, the Rhythm Section made by Shepherd himself (here on double duties too as lead singer) and the superb work on Kevin McCormick on bass, plus the impeccable Joe Krown on keyboards.
The other standout tune of the KWS Band, to our website's view, it is The Middle. On this particular track, Noah Hunt on vocals is absolutely breathtakingly perfect (as he also is on other songs part of the album, like the splendid Blues-drenched song Watch You Go, for example), while Kenny Wayne Shepherd delivers one hell of a Guitar killer solo, confirming once again and if ever needed, why the American artist is considered one of the absolute best guitarists around, just as he has been for the last three decades.
The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band, through the release of Dirt On My Diamonds, Vol.2, takes us all on another inspired musical ride across the highways of Shepherd’s career, in a journey where, with each passing year and each passing album, the American singer/songwriter and guitarist never stops to entertain and to excite all those thousands of fans religiously following him every step of the way.
A ride that, judging by the incessant inspiration flow running into Shepherd’s music as the years go by, will last still for a very long time.
Dirt On My Diamonds Vol.2 is out now and it is available to be purchased via Mascot Label Group / Provogue
