One of my favorite tunes off of Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s “The Way I Go” is Backwater Blues.
Written back in 1927 by Bessie Smith about a flood (some argue it is the great Mississippi flood but others will suggest her song was written prior to the great flood), numerous artists have recorded and performed this great blues tune…which brings me to Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s treatment.
Now I absolutely love the tone and style of KWS…many people see him as a disciple of Stevie Ray Vuaghan’s and sometimes the similarity is too close for the die-hard blues guitar fans.
Others will criticize him for his lack of singing…to me he is just a damn fine guitar player that has carried on the tradition of Southern Blues and continues to both stay true to the music and give credit where credit is due.
“When It Rains For Five Days…And The Sky Turns Dark As Night” – a great intro to a brilliant blues tune.
The song begins with approximately 1-minute of traditional piano treatment, then we get the slow burn of Kenny Wayne’s Texas Shuffle guitar, from there I would have to say this is one of my favorite KWS Band songs…
Here’s a performance – judge it for yourself:
Can’t wait to see Kenny Wayne and the band this July at Ottawa Blues Festival…a highlight for sure.
Have you caught Kenny Wayne recently? How was the show?
Filed under blues guitar by on Mar 22nd, 2013. Comment. 
I have to admit – a great Texas Shuffle a la Stevie Ray Vaughan or Freddie King before him just gets my blood pumping.
I have a son that is just now learning guitar, and though today’s generation is into all of this Electronic Dance Music stuff, I have to admit he even taps his foot when he hears a good blues guitar shuffle come on.
It’s one of the very first things we often learn on guitar (after mastering the basic chords), but getting a great blues shuffle down has as much to do with timing, feeling, swagger (confidence) and right handed picking technique as anything technical.
Here’s a great Kenny Wayne Shepherd number that features a bad-ass Texas Shuffle, tell me if this isn’t the coolest sound you have ever heard!
Kenny Wayne Shepherd – Shotgun Blues by Zone19
Doesn’t that make you want to go pick up your guitar and try to get that timing down, not to mention the great fills between chords…how’s your Texas Shuffle coming?
Filed under texas blues by on Apr 29th, 2012. Comment.
