10 Days Out (Blues from the Backroads)/ (CD/DVD)

1. Prison Blues
2. Potato Patch
3. Honky Tonk
4. The Thrill Is Gone
5. Tina Marie
6. Born in Louisiana
7. Chapel Hill Boogie
8. Tears Come Rollin' Down
9. Knoxville Rag
10. Big Daddy Boogie
11. U-Haul
12. Red Rooster
13. Sittin On Top Of The World
14. Spoonful
15. Grindin' Man

This is being sold as a "CD/DVD" which it is, but it is the DVD which needs to be promoted and praised. The CD is a nice bonus to have to play in standard CD players like in your car. The DVD really deserves some awards. The Grammys are a shallow and overly broad presentation of popular music and I am usually less than enthusiastic about the annual event. Still, I hope that this CD/DVD receives recognition there and in other venues throughout the year. The only thing left out by other reviewers who [like me] loved this production is more credit to Kenny Wayne's dad Ken Shepherd who as a co-producer supervised and contributed a lot to this magnificent documentation of the blues. - Gaylen Halbert (Weimar, California United States)

Sometimes these collaborations between famous rockers and old bluesmen don't turn out so well. Some do, such as Jimmy Rodgers' Blues Blues Blues, and Hubert Sumlin's About Them Shoes. In any case, the famous rockers too often take center stage. Kenny Wayne Shepherd takes a different approach on the brilliant 10 Days Out. Shepherd, his bandmates, and the Double Trouble rhythm section are the supporting cast to the real stars of this CD and DVD, weathered bluesmen (and blueswoman!) both well-known and obscure. From acoustic backwoods jams to live electric performances, this has it all. And even better, Shepherd took the audio and video crew to the hometowns of the blues musicians and jammed in kitchens, the backwoods, living rooms.... wherever the magic appeared. Even B.B. King performs in a juke joint in his hometown of Indianola MS. If you love the blues, you must own this CD!

POSTCRIPT: The DVD is absolutely a gem! Professionally produced and worthy of broadcast, the blues musicians talk about their lives and and the blues. And like the music, Shepherd stays in the backgroud. The DVD is not about Kenny On The Road, it's about the blues and the musicians who create the music. It's interesting that this package is marketed as an audio CD with a bonus DVD. It could have easily been packaged as a DVD with a bonus CD - it's that good! - T. McCool "old married guy" (Lafayette, IN United States)

Amazon Price: $20.99 (as of 05/17/2008)

Trouble Is...

1. Slow Ride
2. True Lies
3. Blue On Black
4. Everything Is Broken
5. I Don't Live Today
6. (Long) Gone
7. Somehow, Somewhere, Someway
8. I Found Love (When I Found You)
9. King's Highway
10. Nothing To Do With Love
11. Chase The Rainbow
12. Trouble Is...

For young people coming from a rock/metal background it can be pretty hard to put on the breaks and start to dig the Blues. The closest a metal head may come to authentic blues is Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin. For rock/punk fans they can start with The Black Keys and their Punk Blues revival but for metal heads it can be a hard transition. Kenny Wayne Shepherd gives them a transitory experience which they can then use to delve into the 60's R&B scene (The Yardbirds, John Mayall & The Bluesbrekaers/Eric Clapton, Savoy Brown, etc). And from there they can descend into the delights of Albert King, Albert Collins, Roy Buchanan, Otis Rush, Robert Johnson, B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, etc.

Kenny sounds like a kid who has just discovered that people dig his guitar playing. His enthusiasm shines through the music. This is a cat who just loves to play. He loves to rock, he loves to boogie. And he also likes fireworks. His solo's are often relatively simple but come off sounding bigger and more impressive than are through the mastery of his bending, raking and shuffling.

I recommended any intermediate guitarist picking up some of his tab. Give some of his solo's a burl, they shouldnt be too hard to grasp and will provide you with some ideas of how effective the minor pentatonic can be. (Make sure once you have got him down pat you move on to Stevie Ray Vaughan for a real challenge). For anybody else who like to get into the blues but dont know where to start, Give this a go. - Mr John Bowers "The Karmanoodle" (Syndey, NSW, OZ)

Release Date: 10/07/1997

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Amazon Price: $12.99 (as of 05/17/2008)
List Price: $13.98

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Ledbetter Heights

1. Born With A Broken Heart
2. Deja Voodoo
3. Aberdeen
4. Shame, Shame, Shame
5. One Foot On The Path
6. Everybody Gets The Blues
7. While We Cry (Live) - Kenny Wayne Shephard
8. I'm Leaving You (Commit A Crime)
9. (Let Me Up) I've Had Enough
10. Riverside
11. What's Goin' Down
12. Ledbetter Heights

Although I think KWS's "Live On" CD is his most original release yet, in some ways this one is even better. In my opinion, Corey Sterling is a more natural singer, less forced or put-on than his replacement, Noah Hunt. And this one features some great keyboard work by Jimmy Wallace, who isn't even on the "Live On" release. The first half of the CD is incredible, with several songs ("Deja Voodoo", "Born with a Broken Heart", "One Foot on the Path", "Everybody Gets the Blues", & the soaring instrumental "While We Cry") rating as good as anything Shepherd's recorded so far. Also, the songwriting is actually better here than on the two follow-up releases. A couple of weak tracks, ("Aberdeen" & "Riverside") keep this one from rating 5-stars. -

Amazon Price: $10.99 (as of 05/17/2008)