Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
The journey is not meant to be smooth sailing, occasionally the wind will drop and you will find yourself becalmed, motionless, moored in a sea that wants to rage but find finds no tempest calling. In those times the voyager might find that the journey is of no consequence, the diary running dry, the memories made fading into the far recesses of the mind, only to be caressed back to life with careful thought.
The Traveler is not only experienced enough to guide themselves through the testing times that befall them, they also have the presence of mind in which to show others that the journey will soon commence again, a reassurance that with a good tailwind all will become clear. It takes dedication to listening to all that has gone before, understanding that the way you viewed the world when first set sail decades before is not the same as it is now, different stages have moulded the approach to problems, circumstances have thrown you off balance but you have soon regained your footing; life is a journey and the best of travellers deal with the unpalatable and the damned by staring them in the face and gently guiding them back to a realm of safety.
Unlike the Siren who lures sailors to their doom, the traveller inspires others to look beyond the map they hold in their hands and see responsibility, that life is complicated but with the right guide, navigable. It is The Traveler in the presence of Kenny Wayne Shepherd that sees us through the void and in his latest album the songs are dots joined together with deliberate ease and passion, the realisation that the world is experiencing instability in its views, where we once thought all was at least seaworthy, it is now under the threat of seismic shifts in which the white horses of the water threaten to overpower us.
Class is permanent, and whilst Kenny Wayne Shepherd will readily admit that he has gotten older, it doesn’t mean that the refined elegance in which he performs and brings out the sublime in all around him has diminished, if anything the strength of his conviction has risen, standing firm against the swell of division and despair. Across songs such as Woman Like You, Tailwind, We Are Alright, Better With Time and the gigantic covers of Joe Walsh’s and Barnstorm’s Turn To Stone and Buffalo Springfield’s Mr. Soul what stands out on this explorer’s map is the continuing flair for expressing unity, for seeking out a harmony within music and with the personal, too rare a commodity in a world constantly seeking partition and schism.
The Traveler follows their own route and seeks company and solitude in equal measure, always acknowledging that the story never ends, it just seeks a view, a scene in which to capture and frame, something that the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band complete with sensual satisfaction.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band release The Traveler on May 31st via Provogue/Mascot Label Group.
Ian D. Hall