(Blues-Rock) Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band - Live! In Chicago - 2010, FLAC (tracks+.cue) lossless

Riddle me this, fair reader, what's an esteemed blues-rock fretburner like Kenny Wayne Shepherd to do to follow up on an artistic, critical, and commercial success like the guitarist's 10 Days Out: Blues From The Backwoods? The award-winning documentary film and soundtrack CD re-established Shepherd's blues bona fides as the music-lovin' instrumentalist traveled South with Double Trouble buds Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon, and long-time vocalist Noah Hunt to capture performances from such blues artists as Henry Townsend, Etta Baker, and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, among others.

The answer to the above question can be found in the grooves of Shepherd's Live! In Chicago. Recorded live at the House of Blues in the Windy City during the 10 Days Out tour, the energetic audience was treated to several hours of blues music, old and new, and Shepherd leads his band through a selection of songs from across his impressive career. Shepherd brought in several friends and musical idols as well to perform, exposing listeners to the talents of underappreciated artists like Buddy Flett, Bryan Lee, and the great Hubert Sumlin.Shepherd himself has said that Live! In Chicago features only a small portion of the concert from that night, but what a show it was! From the ringing chords and the hearty "Hello Chicago!" that open the blistering blues-rock grinder "Somehow, Somewhere, Someway," the listener knows that they're in for a fun ride. Shepherd's fretwork is as crisp and sharp as a razor, singer Noah Hunt's vocals a soulful plea that play perfectly off Shepherd's fiery guitar licks.

Shepherd and band proceed to kick out the jams with incredible performances on tracks like the swaggering swamp-blues boogie of "King's Highway" and the menacing tale of betrayal "True Lies." The audience really responds in recognition of Shepherd's first big hit, the bluesy ballad "Deja Voodoo" a dazzling showcase for the more nuanced and technical end of the guitarist's immense skill set. As Hunt's powerful vocals ride atop the crashing rhythms, Shepherd's instrument slithers its way throughout the song like a dangerous serpent, raising its head now and then to spit out a few emotionally-charged solos.One of the things that Shepherd hoped to achieve with Live! In Chicago was to provide a forum for some of his musical heroes to shine. Guitarist Buddy Flett is the first to appear, delivering a lively and rollicking cover of B.B. King's "Sell My Monkey." Yeah, I hadn't heard of the song before either, but Flett does a wonderful job with his jazzy picking style and hearty vocals.

Drummer/harp wizard Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, a veteran of Muddy Waters' mid-1970s band, steps up to knock out "Baby, Don't Say That No More," a Chicago blues thoroughbred with a few miles left on it yet. Smith's vocals are sturdy and expressive, his blustery harp riffs matching Shepherd's scorching guitarwork in energy and vitality.Guitarist Bryan Lee can be credited as the man who gave Shepherd his start, and the young star provides a partial payback for the favor by featuring Lee both here. Lee makes the most of the opportunity, his considered and complex fretwork a fine counterpoint to Shepherd's wiry guitarplay, Lee's gruff, warm vocals adding a bit of welcome twang to Howlin' Wolf's "How Many More Years." Lee's take on the blues gem "Sick and Tired" manages to fuse New Orleans soul with roughneck roadhouse blues, his growling vocals dancing through the song's funky strutting rhythms.

Blues legend Hubert Sumlin, Howlin' Wolf's long-time guitar foil, is one of Shepherd's musical idols, and rightfully so. As shown by his original "Feed Me," Sumlin's raucous vocals sound like a spirited cross between the Wolf and the great Muddy Waters (another of the guitarist's former employers). It's his guitar that talks the loudest, though, adding a brilliant tone and texture to the performance. A hearty reading of the Wolf's classic "Rocking Daddy" evokes the spirit of Chicago circa 1957, Sumlin's guitar swinging smoothly through the mix, the band providing just the right amount of slippery groove. Shepherd takes back the show for a dark-hued and haunting performance of his "Blue On Black," and a swaggering, muscular romp through "I'm A King Bee."If you don't enjoy blues-rock guitar, then you shouldn't really be here, because Live! In Chicago is a powerful reminder of Kenny Wayne Shepherd's six-string talents. Shepherd's instrument is on display throughout these songs, taking the lead on his own material while providing valuable support that never out-shines the performances of his guests.

With this engaging live set, Shepherd manages to have his cake and eat it too, ripping with reckless abandon through his own considerable songbook but providing a valuable showcase for artists like Flett, Lee, Smith, and Sumlin to shine. This is contemporary blues music at its best, Live! In Chicago perfectly melding old and new, blues and rock, with incredible strength and passion in its guitar-driven performances. (Roadrunner Records, released September 28, 2010)

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First off, Kenny Wayne Shepherd was 33 years old at the release of this album, so he’s not a kid playing hot guitar anymore, he’s a grown man doing it. And he does play a hot lead guitar -- that, in a nutshell, is what he does. But over the years he’s also learned that the blues isn’t just about blazing lead licks, it’s also about letting the song say its say -- and on Live! In Chicago he does that. This is a concert full of songs and not just a bunch of guitar leads broken up by someone singing for a bit. Shepherd is also fully aware of the history of the blues and he honors some of his heroes here by playing with blues legends like Hubert Sumlin, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, Bryan Lee and Buddy Flett and he doesn’t step all over them with his guitar playing -- he supports them. The concert grew out of the tour Shepherd put together in support of 10 Days Out: Blues from the Backroads project, a DVD/CD documentary that featured Shepherd traveling around the country on a ten day trip interviewing and playing with icons from the blues world, including the surviving members of Muddy Waters' and Howlin' Wolf's bands, making this show, recorded at the House of Blues in Chicago, a kind of culmination. It’s all crisp and sharp, full of fine keyboard work by Riley Osbourn and, of course, stinging guitar from Shepherd, but there’s a lot of love and respect here, too. This isn’t just about the blues -- it’s about living to play it. The whole disc is really of a piece, but among the highlights are a jaunty version of B.B. King's "Sell My Monkey," the blues ballad “Deju Voodoo,” and the scorching take on Slim Harpo's “I’m a King Bee” which closes things out. This isn’t a live album from some teenaged savant -- it’s an album from a grown man proud and honored to be playing the blues with some of his heroes. It also rocks.