Kenny Wayne Shepherd - ‘Dirt On My Diamonds, Volume 2’ || Out 20 Sep via Provogue
If this were 1979, KWS would have released "Dirt on My Diamonds" a double album, gatefold sleeve, lush sleeve notes and we would have spent hours studying the lyric sheet and gingerly dropping the needle into the groove, of what would be an absolute banger of a double album!
This being the 2020's its been released in two separate volumes, although recorded at the same time, same place because the vibe was so good they just kept going.
I really liked Volume 1, and Volume 2 doesn't let up on the quality. Opening Track "I Got a Woman" hits the ground the running with riffs and horns a-plenty and in many ways is a response to "Woman Like You" from the Traveller album.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd is a fantastic guitarist and a great vocalist, but I have to admit that when Noah Hunt's vocal ooze out of the speakers over KWS' choppy licks on "The Middle" then that's when they really hit their stride. Noah's vocals seem to take the band to another level.
"My Guitar Is Crying" sounds exactly as you think it would from the title alone, and then it's my personal favourite "Long Way Down" - blues riffs, Noah's vocals and horn section stabs. Wonderful stuff.
Now the problem with reviewing albums is that having said that Long Way Down is my personal favourite, and Noah Hunt is better etc etc etc, KWS comes up with "Never Made It To Memphis" which blasts its way out and suddenly I'm questioning all the previous statements as this track is as good as anything I've heard. Ever.
"Watch You Go" - instant Blue Brothers vibes, followed by "Pressure" a funky blues classic where Kenny frequently tells you he's "about to blow my Top" and then he does on "She Loves My Automobile". Yep, THAT one from ZZ Top (but better).
The tracks on ‘Volume 2’ were born during the writing sessions at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. “The whole reason we went down to Muscle Shoals was to soak up the vibe that’s been left in that room for so many decades,” Shepherd reflects. Tracking took place at the Band House Studios in Los Angeles just days before the studio was demolished. “It was a really cool intimate old-school studio with analogue everything, but they tore it down straight after we made these records,” says Shepherd.
Forced to hold back new material for the first time in his career, Shepherd admits that keeping these latest songs under wraps has been torture. “They’re sounding great in rehearsals and we’ve been dying to get out there and play them”
“These are two unique albums that stand on their own,” Shepherd considers, “but together, I think they make for such a compelling package. We’ve had tremendous success in my career so far, and I’m so surprised and grateful for that. But even now, I still feel like there’s always more to explore musically. I just want to keep pushing the limits.”
So, what have we learned here today?
Well, your life will be better with this album in it and Kenny Wayne Shepherd & Noah Hunt can make ZZ Top sound like a cover band.
Who knows maybe we will get that double vinyl album after all ?
Photo credit: Mark Seliger
