Reviews
- Blues Revue,'Meridian' by Tom Hysop
- Buddy, A Saga of Hell by Tim Schuller
- Honolulu Star-Bulletin Online, Wave Waikiki, Hawaii by Shawn 'Speedy' Lopes
- Blues Revue, Minneapolis, MN by Tom Hyslop
- Blues Access, "Something's Gotta Give" by Tim Schuller
- Blues On Stage, "Something's Gotta Give" by Robert T. Murphy
- Blues Revue, "Something's Gotta Give" by Bill Fountain
- Living Blues, "Something's Gotta Give" Niles Frantz
- Real Blues, "Something's Gotta Give" by Andy Grigg
- Vintage Guitar, "Something's Gotta Give" by John Heidt
- Southwest Blues, "Something's Gotta Give" by Pete Barbeck
- House Of Blues, "Something's Gotta Give" by Albert Torres
- Jazztimes, "Burnin' Up"
- Blues Revue, "Burnin' Up" by Art Tipaldi
- Bayfront Blues Festival, Aug. 16, 1998, by John Myers
Blues Access
Shawn Pittman
Something's Gotta Give -- CD Review
by Tim Schuller
Issue #39, Fall 1999
Shawn Pittman's debut, Blues From Dallas, Texas - a blues album pure and simple - was better than most self-released albums, so Cannonball reissued it as Burnin' Up. But the young Oklahoman's gift for rhythmic insistence is such that some of his most popular tunes with clubgoers are infectious soul vamps and funky, dancer-friendly groove tunes, which is mostly what you get on his second CD, Something's Gotta Give.
"Get Started" and "East Side Groove" are catchy instrumental numbers, the former a tad spacey, the latter more a skank thang with lots of scratchin' guitar. Pittman's authoritative lead lines call to mind mature groove-pushers Jimmy Ponder and Steve Cropper more than straight-up bluesmen.
The funk quotient is deepened by in-demand keyboardist Riley Osborne, whose organ playing sounds like it's been steeped in chunky rib sauce. Similarly funky are Pittman's guitar textures, wrung from an old Magnatone amp he bought from Texas cheesemaster Homer Henderson.
"Come On Over " and "Make It Through" are definitely in the soul-skank camp, as is the less successful "Payin' the Price," which has Pittman going wacka-wacka with a wah-wah while Dallas cohort Mike Morgan takes the lead break. Those who say that young white guys can't sing soul-ish stuff will find Pittman a welcome exception.
Fans of straight-on blues will like "Just a Game," a tromp-tromp shuffle with unclean guitar, and the Louisiana-style "Something to Remember You By." "Cruisin" is a textbook example of the Texafield blues-rockin' instrumental in the post-Thunderbirds vein, while the wrap-up, "That First Drink," is done unplugged, with swooping bottleneck work and heartfelt, unaffected singing.
Pittman's done a stint with breakout blues-rocker Susan Tedeschi and has been featured on side projects with Hash Brown and Mike Morgan, but he's mainly a frontman now. His CDs and live shows definitely deserve the attention of anyone interested in talented roots music up-comers.