Ledbetter Heights Giant

Kenny Wayne Shepherd

By Leo Durham

For some "good die young" blues, check out the new CD by up-and-coming blues guitarist/songwriter/vocalist Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Mixing soul and blues, this CD has much to recommend it. With hard-driving blues numbers like "(Let Me Up) I've Had Enough," "Born with a Broken Heart," and "Shame, Shame, Shame," this is an artist worth watching. If the live guitar solo of "While We Cry" is any indication, young Shepherd can hold and move his audience.

Most of the dozen songs on the CD were written by Shepherd and he shows an empathy for the blues, a respect for its more famous exponents and true promise as a songwriter and performer.