This is the second installment to last year’s “Dirt On My Diamonds Vol.1” and arrives on September 20. In less than a year this release follows Vol.1. Vol.2 was a no brainer and the one we all knew was coming.
With a familiar format to Vol.1 we again have a collection of eight tracks with a running time of just over half an hour play time.
While it would have made sense to have released both Volumes 1 & 2 together as one album, there is a lot of logic to doing things the way Kenny Wayne Shepherd has. The simplest way to break it down is that the collection of songs had such depth. There is a live energy captured in this recording that wasn’t there on Vol.1. It also allows a new touring cycle that will introduce these songs to the live set where I believe they will take on a whole other life.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd really needs no introduction as he had been one of those artists that has been so consistent in what he does. As a guitarist he has an understanding of his instrument like no other of modern times. There is an old blues soul to his approach to song writing and arrangements. Every performer on this record has delivered in spades it really is an exceptional collaboration of musicianship.
“Dirt On My Diamonds” Vol.1 hinted at what was to come on Vol.2 in tracks like ‘Bad Intentions’ but the way this album hits, things are different this time. I have struggled with how to describe the difference between the two, yet I think supercharged is the best way to put it. There is a dynamic and power in every performance I didn’t get from Vol.1. I do know that the songs from both volumes were written at the same time, it’s just something in the way they have been put together and recorded that gives Vol.2 a vibrance that wasn’t there previously.
‘I Got A Woman’ is the first single from the album is and is a tell-tale sign of what is to come. It is an all-out attack on the senses. That gritty signature guitar sound that we have come to love from Shepherd is prominent and the lush layers of brass and organ sits beautifully over a groove that is infectious. It’s a feel-good groove that just incites a singalong chorus and instant ear worm.
While I still haven’t had a chance to pick up my jaw ‘The Middle’ takes hold and is another slice of feelgood funky perfection, soul tinted and that ‘woah-oh-oah’ chorus is much like its predecessor sticks in your mind and haunts you, visiting you when you least expect it. The wah-infused solo simply sings. The lush brass is what you would have come to expect from a mid-seventies Chicago album.
‘My Guitar Is Crying’ is the albums only moment where things come down a notch. From the warmth of the vocal to its soulful bite at country music. It has that highly polished 80’s production where it’s fluffy and light but in the best of ways. It is a hybrid tune that is perfect in every essence. The stellar solo and licks that weave in and out of the vocal lines are pure emotion. Vocally it’s a beautiful tale of sadness and loss.
I mentioned ‘Bad Intentions’ from Vol.1 in my introduction and ‘Long Way Down’ is the perfect sibling track. The brass parts on this track are simply dripping with goodness. The solo again is perfect, raw, dynamic and super powerful. Don’t get me started on the main riff, it’s monstrous, dirty, bluesy and oh so good.
My favourite moment on the album comes from ‘Never Made It To Memphis’. Which initially reminds me of a classic Tom Petty riff and tone. Then you have that catchy as hell chorus crosses the line into modern country rock territory but does it with a dirt and grit. The female harmonies in the chorus lift this song, the simplicity of the ‘woo-oooh-hoo’ backing vocal lines just pull you in. This is one hell of a tasty track and needs to be a single; radio will love it.
The hallmark Kenny Wayne Shepherd dirty guitars and brass kick ‘Watch You Go’ off. It’s a slick track that just screams to be played loud. Its full of swagger and good times. The vocal performance has a grit to it that reminds me of classic blues storytelling the lyrical hook of “I hate to see you leaving, but I sure do love to watch you go” is a thing of beauty.
‘Pressure’ is a journey in storytelling. It’s the lyrics that caught me first with this one as the story sits over a wall of exquisite groove and guitar licks. It has a funky backbone that swings and sways. The solo is thick and driving, in fact the guitar playing on this track is a definite highlight. It’s probably the slowest track to grow on me, however it’s a creeper that sits so well in this collection.
‘She Loves My Automobile’ is a full tilt, straight forward blues rocker that just swings and sways effortlessly and beautifully. It has a boogie ZZ Top would be proud of to it and ends the album so well, in fact it segways back into the opening track so effortlessly.
In what seems to be the blink of an eye this album is over. As they say time flies when you are having fun and this record is nothing but fun, engaging and has you hitting repeat over again and again.
Here in the southern hemisphere we are blessed to have this album released just in time for our summer as this is one of those albums that will be cranked, driving albums that I am sure will be a huge part of my 2024/25 summer soundtrack. I know my neighbours are already familiar with it and it’s only spring.
After playing both volumes back-to-back it is evident that there is a certain magic to this album that was slightly missing on Vol.1. While I really enjoyed the first installment, “Dirt On My Diamonds Vol.2” is simply on another level. It hits differently, there is a magic to these songs that simply stick better. Choruses and grooves come back at the most unexpected times and I have found myself either singing a chorus or humming a melody from the album. For me that is the sign of a great album. “Dirt On My Diamonds Vol.2” may well be my favourite album from an international artist this year.
9.5/10
