With the compliment of saxophonist Joe Sublett, trumpet player Mark Pender, keyboardist Joe Krown, drummer Chris Layton (formerly with Stevie Ray Vaughn’s Double Trouble), bassist Scott Nelson, and lead vocalist Noah Hunt, five-time Grammy-nominated Kenny Wayne Shepherd has unveiled Straight To You Live on Blu-ray Disc and DVD.
This blasting-out-of-the-gate performance from the seven-piece Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band was recorded at the iconic Leverkusen Jazztage for the equally iconic German Rockpalast TV show in late 2019. The band was on its Traveler world tour (named after their 2019 album The Traveler) that came to a screeching halt in 2020 because of the COVID -19 pandemic.
Opening with a chunky blues number “Woman Like You,” the band takes off right into a heavy version of Neil Young’s “Mr. Soul.” While eyes and ears are on the main man, the other players weave a thick sound around the fiery guitarist who has released four studio albums in the past decade and routed around the world several times. This is the first time Shepherd had taken horns with him to Europe, and their addition to the sound really sets this bluesy rock performance heads and tails above most others.
“I Want You” features Shepherd on lead vocal, while “The Heat Of The Sun” is a ballad that showcases Hunt’s voice as the soft horns interplay with Shepard’s tasty bending. The band encores with “Blue On Black,” a nasty roiling “Kind Bee,” and the longest tune of the night featuring Shepherd in full wah-wah glory, Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child (Slight Return).”
The sound here is spectacular, as are the visuals of a brightly colored stage. This concert film, also available on CD (included with the Blu-ray Disc and DVD) and vinyl, is bound to thrill. COVID-19 or not, we once had the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band kicking out sets like this. Let’s hope we get them back soon.
~ Ralph Greco, Jr.
