Electric Blues
Kenny Wayne Shepherd - Trouble Is...
Revolution 1997
 
Review Published Jan 15, 1998
Artist Spotlite on Kenny Wayne Shepherd


Sound Clips, Discography
Track Listing
1 Slow Ride
2 True Lies
3 Blue On Black
4 Everything Is Broken
5 I Don't Live Today
6 (Long) Gone
7 Somehow, Somewhere,
        Someway
8 I Found Love
    (When I Found You)
9 King's Highway
10 Nothing To Do
        With Love
11 Chase The Rainbow
12 Trouble Is...

EB Rating - 4.0
I wanted to be sure to start out with positive comments about Trouble Is.... It is a very good CD, and young Kenny Wayne Shepherd is an execellent guitarist. My favorite songs from the CD are Slow Ride, Somehow Somewhere Someway, and Chase The Rainbow. Kenny really struts his stuff on theses cuts. There are no truly poor songs on the CD, except for possibly I Don't Live Today (appologies to Jimi Hendrix fans).
Other strong songs on the CD are, True Lies and King's Highway
Trouble Is... does suffer from a common phenomenon that affects many artists. It is known as Sequel Syndrome, which is defined as more of the same, just not as good. Artists pull out all there good stuff for that first release, which leaves them with a pretty tall order to match or better it with the follow up. While this CD is very good, comparitively speaking it simply is not as good as his first release, Ledbetter Heights.
The weak link in Kenny's music to this point is the vocals (Kenny does not sing), which I find to be mediocre, not powerful or distinctive at all. Kenny's playing overshadows the vocals to a large degree. Another small gripe I have is the tendancy on several songs to drag out the endings a bit. On one or two songs I found myself thinking, "this song is finished, why are they still playing?"
If you are considering purchasing your first KWS CD, I recommend his first release, Ledbetter Heights. Overall it's just a better album. Trouble Is... however, is a very good CD. If you like Kenny's chops, there are plenty to enjoy. There are a few killer songs, and the CD is consistant througout, making it a worthwhile purchase.