Pay no attention to the title: Kenny Wayne Shepherd‘s Dirt On My Diamonds -Vol.2 stands decidedly on its own two feet, welcoming old fans and first-time listeners in equal measure. Shepherd’s work is admirably brief, recalling the 30-minute runtime typically favored by the Beatles during the 1960s. While Shepherd doesn’t always have the heart to deliver the nuances behind the lyrics, the torrent of guitar riffs happily compensates for this weakness. He allows some flourishes to seep through, but by and large, this record is the epitome of a brutal economy.
As opening numbers go, “I Got a Woman” is a riveting one, Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s soloing billowing over the furious exhibition of bass and drums. The brass-heavy grooves of “Pressure” show a more tender side to the guitarist, who lets the instrumentation wash over his vocals, highlighting a piece as colorful as it is strangely sensual to listen to. There are Beatle influences, not least on “The Middle”, a jaunty exercise in soul a la George Harrison. “Love ain’t such a riddle,” he sings before embarking on a sharp, solid guitar solo that punches through the proceedings to barrel into a short instrumental interlude that lifts “The Middle” into something funkier and more frenetic.
Surfer-rock track “Watch You Go” puts as much emphasis on the barrelhouse piano as it does on the blistering guitar hook, littering through the backdrop with panache. Many tracks were laid down at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where the singer/guitarist allowed the acoustics and atmosphere to wash over him. Although it was recorded in the 21st century, Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s songcraft follows the style of 1970s blues, giving the music a raw quality that thrives on feeling rather than precision and form. The bass occasionally sounds undermixed, but it swings throughout “My Guitar Is Crying”, a stomping song that holds some of the flavours utilised by the Beatles on “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”.
Whether the songs were recorded live with the musicians playing in tandem or pieced together manually is unknown, but “Watch You Go” sounds like it was taped at a gig, all furious vocals and swampy keyboards pushing the melody forward to its natural limits. “She Loves My Automobile” is simply a monstrous recording, many horns high up in the mix, bolstering Kenny Wayne Shepherd to deliver his most affecting vocal on Dirt on My Diamonds – Vol. 2.
He never matches Rory Gallagher or Brian May for vocal talent, but he is a nifty guitarist who combines Gallagher’s penchant for rhythm with May’s more intuitive lead soloing. With “Watch You Go”, Shepherd exhibits a Southern delta-style blues hook that boasts a character that belongs to him and him alone. During the middle bridge, the guitarist moves away from the microphone to develop a lingering, lively passage that could only stem from the fingers of a man caught in the spontaneity of his work.
Dirt on My Diamonds—Vol. 2 is not a game changer but a tribute to rock music, an epistle from a proud disciple to his beatified masters. The songs will undoubtedly take another shape when performed on stage, and what flairs are missing from the bass guitar on record will undoubtedly be restored on tour. The drums, occasionally drowned out by the loud guitars, will also benefit from the stage format.
What Dirt on My Diamonds – Vol. 2 delivers are the riffs: punchy, polished, and presented with little decoration. The playing is honest, genuine, and deeply reverent of the history it brings further into the decade. Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s album shows that rock ‘n’ roll never died; it simply changed course.