Required for Music Lovers: Ten Days Out
Pinetop Perkins. Willie “Big Eyes” Smith. Bryan Lee. “Wild Child” Butler. “Honeyboy” Edwards. Etta Baker.
These are names that could go forgotten if not for projects like Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s new CD/DVD release, Ten Days Out. I can’t tell you how impressed I am not only with this project, but with Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Before this project was brought to my attention, I didn’t know much about what was going on with Kenny these days. I remember him when we were hearing “Blue on Black” on rock radio ten years ago, when Kenny was only 19 years old.
So how cool is this project? Kenny teamed up with former Talkin Head Jerry Harrison (producer), the rhythm section for Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Double Trouble, and a film crew to take a 10-day drive through the South. They located some of the living legends of the blues, talked to them, and performed with them in different settings: living rooms, front porches, kitchens, cemetaries, and smoky clubs.
The resulting CD and DVD are intimate and wholly authentic: “What happened is what you hear,” said Shepherd, “We kept it as real as possible.”
Kenny of course is an amazing blues guitarist in his own right, and there’s plenty of Kenny on display here. But what really impressed me was his unselfishness, and his reverence for those that paved his way. What he and Harrison did with this project is important for American Blues. The DVD is a history lesson, a primer in the blues, and pays homage to some amazing talents and personalities who – let’s face it – ain’t gonna be around for long. Required viewing folks, required viewing. Kenny Wayne Shepherd has himself a new fan…
Check out the trailer here (in Quicktime):
Buy the CD / DVD Box Set of Ten Days Out for $19.97 on Amazon.
Official Site of Ten Days Out
Kenny Wayne Shepherd & B.B. King: The Thrill is Gone (Quicktime Audio) | The Thrill is Gone (Media Player Audio)
5 Comments
jazzmaster
n i c e . . . Thanks for reminding me of this, Pete. I read about the project some time last year, but completely forgot. I’ve been fortunate enough to see KWS three times (once with BB, in fact, at the Beacon Theatre in NYC).
This looks VERY promising!
Thierry
They definitely ain’t gonna be around for long – in fact, five of the musicians in the documentary have ALREADY passed away in the time it took to release it: Neal Pattman, Cootie Stark, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, George “Wild Child” Butler, and Etta Baker.
Pete
Thierry – Wow, that’s amazing, and very sad. The DVD really endears you to these folks. Especially Etta Baker. Kenny Wayne plays with her in her kitchen. This little old sweet lady playing the guitar blues.
Jai
You should see “Deep Blues” featuring Dave Stewart and the great blues writer Robert Palmer, who do the same thing but concentrate on the Hill Country and Clarksdale (RL Burnside, Jr. Kimbrough, Big Jack Johnson). It starts in Memphis and goes south.
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