[Copper Magazine] Kenny Wayne Shepherd Lands a Blues-Rock Punch With Dirt on My Diamonds, Vol. 2

Kenny Wayne Shepherd, along with artists like Joe Bonamassa, Gary Clark, Jr., Walter Trout, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram and others, has been a driving force in keeping blues-based rock guitar alive during one of the instrument’s most tumultuous times. Over the last 10 years, music retailers like Sam Ash, which recently declared bankruptcy, have struggled or disappeared as popular music has almost entirely moved away from the guitar, and rock radio has largely abandoned new music. Yet when other guitarists decided to add urban elements to their sound to try to connect with a younger audience, Kenny Wayne doubled down, continuing to release song-based music that had muscle and attitude, and choruses that you could sing along to – especially in your car at top speeds with the windows down.

His commitment to not only his craft but to the kind of music that has always inspired him is too often overlooked, and the current revival that is happening in guitar with emerging artists like Ariel Posen could only have happened because guys like Kenny Wayne never let the candle burn out, even in the most harrowing of musical storms.

This past fall he released a record called Dirt On My Diamonds, Volume 1. It kind of summed up his journey to date with a sense of musical maturity that took shape with a kind of balance that’s impossible to ignore. The album was strong, firm with feeling, and inherently fun. Even Kenny Wayne knew that he had made something so solid that it warranted a companion piece.

Dirt On My Diamonds, Volume 2, which was released in September, began with writing sessions at the legendary FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The rooms in that facility are like the sweatband in an ace pitcher’s cap. They have soaked up every emotion felt during the endless stretch of strikes thrown in sessions that resulted in the creation of some of America’s most important music. Kenny Wayne then completed the album in Los Angeles and made a record that is the follow-up punch to a quick hit.

Dirt On My Diamonds, Volume 2 includes some surprises. The first are the vocal contributions of Corrina Gill, daughter of country artists Vince Gill and Amy Grant. Her voice is powerful, reminiscent of Tina Turner’s contribution to the Bryan Adams song “It’s Only Love.” Keep an eye out for her because her voice is so strong it can make the floors start to creak.

Both volumes welcome the return of former member Mark “The Loveman” Pender (of Conan O’Brien’s TV show and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes) on trumpet. He and partner Joe Sublett on sax add soaring horn parts that are so strong that when they come in, they lift the songs into a full blaze.

Read the full review and interview with KWS at Copper Magazine.