10 Days Out (Blues From The Backroads) Review

Release Date: Jan 23, 2007
Label: Reprise, Warner Bros
Genres: Blues
Number Of Tracks: 15 + DVD
Shepherd shows his respect for a cast of legendary bluesmen by giving them the spotlight on his latest CD/DVD.

Sound:	9
Lyrics:	8.5
Impression:	9
Overall rating:	8.8
Users rating:	8
Comments:	8

overall: 10

Featured review by: UG Team, on january 24, 2007

Sound: Kenny Wayne Shepherd fans should be aware that his latest release isn’t necessarily what you’d expect. 10 Days Out: Blues From The Backroads is dedicated more to the legendary musicians -- including the remaining members of Muddy Waters and Howling Wolf’s bands -- and Shepherd is merely a small presence. Even thought that might freak out Shepherd’s fans, the latest CD is a huge success in terms of delivering the purest form of blues.

The 2-disk CD/DVD is a fantastic chronicle of the blues, and through most of the journey (which hits everywhere from Kansas to Louisiana) Shepherd bows out of the limelight. It’s both a gutsy and highly respectable thing for Shepherd to do. Instead of hearing new material from the young blues guitarist/vocalist, he instead gives the stage to some of the biggest influences in his life. The result is a soundtrack to his roadtrip visiting some of the greatest blues musicians in history.

One of the most memorable performances comes from Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, a bluesman who Shepherd claims became a sheriff just to carry the gun. You can hear the honesty pouring out of his song “Born In Louisiana,” but it goes a lot further than that. He plays the guitar, the violin, and tackles the vocals in the same song with absolute ease. The man is around 90 and is just as confident onstage as any young bad out there today. During Brown’s performance Shepherd plays rhythm guitar, but anything else would have seemed almost like upstaging. Shepherd deserves credit for letting Brown do what he does best without any interference.

If you’re hard-pressed for time, go straight for the DVD. It’s a documentary featuring Shepherd’s trip across the country to play with some of his greatest influences. Shepherd offers brief commentary during his travels, but it’s really bluesmen like B.B. King and Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown that will make the biggest impression. It’s just a phenomenal site to see Shepherd studying every move that King makes when he’s playing his solo to “The Thrill Is Gone.” The two guitarists eventually trade solos back and forth, making it easily one of the best moments in the DVD portion. // 10

Lyrics and Singing: You don’t get more heartfelt and honest than a blues lyric, and 10 Days covers a lot of ground in the genre. There is a beautiful simplicity in blues that isn’t heard much these days, but there’s plenty of humor along the way as well.

“Got My Mojo Working” by Muddy Waters, arguably one of the greatest blues musicians ever, shows up on Shepherd’s CD. While you might think that feelings of melancholy will always be present in a blues song, Waters proves this idea extremely wrong. Pinetop Perkins takes over the vocal part on the CD and sings, “I'm going down to Louisiana to get me a mojo hand; I'm gonna have all you women right here at my command.” If you ever wondered where rockers got their sexy onstage struts, listen no further.

There is still plenty of heartache heard on 10 Days, with B.B. King’s “The Thrill Is Gone” being easily the quintessential blues song. All in all the songs on the CD cover a lot more ground topic-wise (not to mention humor) than many contemporary recordings. // 10

Impression: Kenny Wayne Shepherd is obviously known for his guitar prowess, but it’s the heart behind his music that really comes to the forefront in 10 Days. While he has a few solos thrown into the 15-song CD, the focus is very much elsewhere. Hearing him work with such a wide variety of blues performers is a worthwhile experience, even if you haven’t picked up any of his records in the past.

When it comes down to it, the CD is dedicated to bluesmen (and women) like B.B. King, Etta Baker, and Cootie Stark. You might not know most of the names listed on the playlist, but you definitely will not forget the cast of characters. And for blues lovers? Shepherd’s 10 Days is a CD/DVD is as much of an unforgettable history lesson as it is a fantastic listening experience. // 10

overall: 7.7

Reviewed by: Merlin1620, on march 24, 2007

Sound: This CD/DVD Combo is well worth the $20 it's priced at. The music is relatively 65% acoustic but the blues that they bring light to is exactly that. There are still a decent amount of electric oriented songs but don't expect to hear some amazing fretboard work as many of the musicians are above the 60 year mark. Both the CD and the DVD have the same music but the DVD is more interested in the lifestlyes of the players as well as their stories behind the music. // 8

Lyrics and Singing: The lyrical style of many songs are overall light with few phrases and very repetitive wording. This combo is not focused on the lyrical sense but on the idea that true blues will not be around forever. Many of the songs have to do with life in the 50's or a common phrase is "Boogie" which gives a relative time frame as to when it was written. My favorite song which feature Double Trouble "WildChild" and a few others is SpoonFull. // 7

Impression: I have watched the DVD about 4 times in 3 days, the CD has yet to leave my car stereo, which shows how much I enjoy it's music. Overall it's a good by especially the history and creation of blues and the lives that developed it. Many artists in this have now unfortunately passed away so this is, to an extent, their last musical recording. This brings a new perspective to blues and is worth checking out. // 8

Comments

[RjNjimmypage]

i have been wondering were Kenny Wayne Shepherd has been

[havocrus]

Good thing he got back to the blues. The rock thing he released was ok, but the blues is where he makes a mark. Hoping for new original blues next time. I think I'll check him out in Austin this week, maybe some of these guys will be in the show.

[LustGardenBlues]

Kenny Wayne Shepherd is the reason I picked up a guitar.

[Buzz762]

Seen him play live twice. He was excellent on that tour he did with BB King and John Bonamassa. The other time was at some big festival thing here in Detroit where I swear he was almost a reincarnation of Jimi Hendrix. He's definitely someone who has influenced my playing a lot.

[TexasShuffle222]

is the CD live as well as the DVD?

[epiphonist13]

My parents saw him on the kings of blues tour with BB King s buzz mentioned, then they rushed home and bought all his cds and was a large influence on my music. Great to see hes back to his roots

[GBMV]

I went and saw Kenny with BB King and Joe Bonomassa, fantastic performance by all of them, (I really noted Joe's playing though)

[grim1]

i saw KWS with G3 years ago. That boy is damn good. I hope he is able to stick around a little longer. Would love to see a show with him and Jonny Lang. That would be damn good.