Electric Guitar
The Long And Short Of It: The Best Of Guitar Shorty
Album DescriptionBorn in Houston, Texas, in 1939, Guitar Shorty learned guitar at an early age, was inspired by the flamboyant Guitar Slim and went on to influence Jimi Hendrix. In 1991, after a long period with minimal success, Shorty released his first LP, My Way Or The Highway, which won him a WC Handy Award and relaunched his career. The Long And Short Of It: The Best Of Guitar Shorty contains “No Educated Woman” and “Red Hot Mama” from My Way Or The Highway, as well as highlights. . . More >>
The Long And Short Of It: The Best Of Guitar Shorty
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As Shaq, “The King Of The World Blues Reviewer”, has said in previous reviews: Shorty’s got the soul and desire of a blues man, but (No pun intended. ) comes up short. Though, this is a “Best Of” CD, Shaq likes a previously reviewed (By Shaq. ) CD “Watch Your Back” better. The long and short of it is, that Shorty just doesn’t have the “full voice”. A couple of songs on this collection, sounds like he’s hoarse and yelling, with no singing involved. I made it through the entire CD a couple of times, but there are too many songs, that you just don’t want to hear, a second time, let alone a 3rd or 4th time. I feel if Shorty picked his songs better, and maybe emphasized, more strong, lengthy, guitar riffs, he’d have a better-rated CD. Please keep trying Shorty, because your heart’s in the right place.
This is a great collection of old and new music from Guitar Shorty who knows how to jam. Love it! Delivered in record time!
I admit to being a little torn in this review. I have spent some time over the past year or so discussing various trends and performers in the blues genre. I have highlighted those like Muddy Waters, B. B. King, John Lee Hooker who have made the blues pantheon. I have also, more recently, tried to look at the secondary players and seek to find out why they didn’t made the A list. The case of Guitar Shorty fits that mold. This guy can play guitar, he can belt out a song and he has a passion for the blues. But, and this is a big but, his work seems derivative. I hear a lot of Muddy and B. B. here. Moreover, the lyrics to the songs that he has authored like “No Educated Woman”, “I’m The Clean Up Man” and “Hard Life” do not “speak” to me. That said, the song he smokes on “Hey, Joe”, the one that his “protege” Jimi Hendrix made famous, is the way he should probably have gone with his style. Hats off to a guy who got left behind on that one.