The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band: Kenny Wayne Shepherd (vocals, guitar); Corey Sterling (vocals); Joe Nadeau (guitar); Jimmy Wallace (keyboards, percussion); Will Ainsworth (bass); Kevin Smith (drums).
Producers: David Z, Ken Shepherd.
Engineers: David Z, Rob Smith & Associates.
Recorded at House Of Blues, Memphis, Tennessee; Oceanway Studios, Hollywood, California; Funkytown, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Includes liner notes by James Brown.
Personnel: Kenny Wayne Shepherd (vocals, guitar).
Recording information: Funkytown, Minneapolis, MN; House of Blues Studios, Memphis, TN; Ocean Way Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA; Red River Revel, Shreveport, LA [live].
Unknown Contributor Role: Bill Ainsworth.
Since Stevie Ray Vaughan's untimely death in 1990, there has been a fear that the future of popular blues died with him. Kenny Wayne Shepherd's debut does much to dispel these concerns. Hugely influenced by the late Texan, this 18 year-old prodigy first picked up the guitar after watching an SRV show from atop one of Vaughan's amps when he was eight. Shepherd's decade-long woodshedding pays off on an album that incorporates versatility and passion missing in musicians twice his age.
The Shreveport native moves naturally from traditional country blues, combining steel guitar and a biting slide ("Aberdeen"), to slow Buddy Guy-styled emotiveness that gets fleshed out by southside-Chicago piano lines ("Shame, Shame, "Shame"). While Shepherd channels Howlin' Wolf's "I'm Leaving You" with the same aggresiveness that Vaughan did, his finest moment comes on a live instrumental called "While We Cry." Starting out inspired by Hendrix's gentler side, Shepherd builds up to a Claptonian pitch egged on by an appreciative crowd--at once defining himself and resurrecting the muse that was seemingly lost on a foggy night in 1990.
Professional Reviews
Q (8/00, p.124) - 3 stars out of 5 - "Rock-solid 1995 debut from precocious, flaxen-headed bluesman....those fingers generate some heat."
Format:
CD
Country:
USA
UPC:
0075992462129
Studio/Live:
Mixed
Release Date:
19 September, 1995
Tell a friend
Sell Yours
Already own this item? Sell Yours and earn some cash.
It's fast and free to list! (Learn More.)
Reviews
–
Ledbetter Heights is a very strong debut album from Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Shepherd's guitar style is very reminiscent of the late, great Stevie Ray Vaughan. Most of the material here is very strong. The opening tracks "Born With A Broken Heart" and "Deja Voodoo" received extensive airplay on AOR radio and are both excellent tracks featuring Shepherd's outstanding playing. Other strong tracks include the slow blues of "Shame, Shame, Shame", the soulful "Riverside", and the driving "Aberdeen." His version of Howlin' Wolf's "I'm Leaving You (Commit A Crime)" is also an excellent track. However, the best example of Shepherd's playing may be on the slow live track "While We Cry" and the killer ending title track which sounds like it would fit in nicely on Vaughan's Texas Flood album. Other tracks such as "Everybody Gets The Blues" and "What's Goin' Down" are decent, but not as strong as the rest of the album. A great debut, highly recommended to fans of blues guitarists such as SRV as well as the new breed of blues players like Jonny Lang
You can earn a 5% commission by selling Ledbetter Heights CD on your website. It's easy to get started - we will give you example code. After you're set-up, your website can earn you money while you work, play or even sleep!
Authors/Publishers
Are you the Author/Publisher? Improve sales by submitting additional information on this title.
This item ships from and is sold by Fishpond.com, Inc.
Help
My Cart
Ships within 24 hours from USA supplier
– 