Shawn Pittman - Too Hot (2010)





[3:21] 1. How Many More Years
[3:24] 2. Secret Weapon
[2:33] 3. The Same Thing Could Happen To You
[4:26] 4. Slow Down
[3:02] 5. Geronimo Rock
[2:45] 6. Next Door Neighbor
[4:14] 7. Lookin' Good
[3:16] 8. My Love Is Here To Stay
[3:21] 9. Can't Stand To See You Go
[3:44] 10. Play A Little While
[4:07] 11. Business Man
[4:10] 12. Where You Get Your Sugar From
[5:37] 13. Burnin' Up
[4:40] 14. Reap What You Sow
[3:38] 15. Too Hot

Shawn’s delicious use of the spare ‘less is more’ guitar style, which is frequently displayed by one of Texas’s premier guitarists, Jimmy Vaughan, allows the listener to appreciate the skilful artistry of Shawn’s individual approach to Texas blues.

He raises the quality bar with each successive album release. Here, we find him recording with a very fine group of Italian musicians who have backed him on his recent successful European tour. Speaking to Shawn he informed me that the album came about after Tano had heard him perform the Jerry McCain number “Too Hot” during one of the concerts on the tour and he asked Shawn if he and the band would go into the studio and record the number as it had become a particular favourite of his. So, as a consequence of this request Shawn and the rest of the band went into the Electric Honey Studios on the ninth of November two thousand and nine which also just happened to be their only day off in the middle of the tour; they recorded not only the Jerry McCain number but fourteen others as well such as Howlin’ Wolf's “How Many More Years”, Lazy Lester’s “The Same Thing Could Happen To You”, another excellent choice is Jerry McCain’s “Geronimo Rock”, and Larry Williams's “Slow Down”, these are but a few of the numbers which make up this album. As a measure of the band’s sharpness and spot on musicianship all the numbers were recorded live in a four hour session and each of them completed in ‘one take’, afterwards it was back to the whistle-stop tour of Italy which included eighteen shows in nineteen days. To give the numbers that extra edge Shawn played his guitar through a bassman amp. His obvious enjoyment at playing hard driving shuffles is fully recognizable throughout each number on the album, at some points as Shawn states the music is “pure out furious”. These fifteen new recordings have the vitality and urgency of a man on a mission; his almost stabbing and jagged guitar runs introduce a new kind of Texas guitar style to the genre, his confidence and composure whilst performing indicates a maturity beyond his age.

Shawn’s voice has a no nonsense, raw and gritty edge throughout the set I wonder if he has been on a diet of emery cloth and vinegar? The very fine musicians that are accompanying Shawn play not only on this album but also throughout the tour, they are that powerhouse of a drummer “John Lee” Emanuel Zamperini and the very tight bass player Martin” Keith Punch” Iotti, joining them as guest harp player is the outstanding Max Lugli, together they create a top class rock solid collection of blues blasters.

The relaxed ease of manner, the fluidity of play and very obvious bluesy feeling from Shawn and the band just simply oozes out in fierce waves of pleasure. Some reviewers may say that what you are about to hear is a Texas blues blaster; well, I would go further and say ladies and gentlemen that there is only one phrase for what you are about to experience and that is A Searing and Scorching session of “Blitzkrieg Blues Blasters” Texas style! which takes no prisoners whatsoever!. So I humbly suggest that you pull on your snakeskin boots and start stompin’ those blues! From this album Shawn can expect to gain many more lovers of fast and furious goodtime Texas blues. ~Brian Harman
_{Quelle: Amazon.com}


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