Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band - Straight to You Live

Shepherd's fans had been hoping for a live release from their hero for a long time and their wish has come to fruition with this first ever live release from the guitar slinger, a 2019 show for Germany's Rockpalast television program. The show starts with "Woman like You," a cut that like most of the concert features Noah Hunt on lead vocals. The song also features a great horn line from sax man Joe Sublett and trumpet player Mark Pender, with Shepherd's guitar solo coming in at about mid-song. A cover of the Neil Young-penned Buffalo Springfield favorite "Mr. Soul" is performed early in the concert; the cut is only found on the DVD portion of this CD/DVD set. "Mr. Soul" is one of several performed cuts that are on Shepherd's 2019 The Traveler album that was current at the time of the show; the others are "Long Time Running" and "I Want You." With Shepherd and Hunt taking turns on lead vocals and Hunt playing guitar on some cuts, the show is a tour de force with old style blues cuts like the Elmore James chestnut "Talk to Me Baby" and Slim Harpo's "I'm a King Bee" sitting alongside Shepherd's big hit "Blue on Black" and a couple of classic rock covers, the Joe Walsh rocker "Turn to Stone" and the Jimi Hendrix classic "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)." Shepherd is red hot throughout, as is his crack band that also features former Stevie Ray Vaughn sideman Chris Layton on drums, Scott Nelson on bass and Joe Krown on keyboards.

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