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 Revue
Shawn Pittman
Burnin' Up -- CD Review
by Art Tipaldi
September, 1998
Shawn Pittman is James Dean meets the Vaughans: Torn white T-shirt, slicked-back hair, and chiseled Dean features preside over intense Texas guitar. At 24 years old, Pittman commands his guitar to speak the string-slingin' language of the Lone Star State. Sure there's Jimmie and Stevie, but the influences of Albert King, Buddy Guy, and young guns such as Smokin' Joe Kubek and Mike Morgan also are present in his playing.
Like much guitar-fronted music, Pittman's songs usually rely on the power of three pieces--but the guitarist also realizes that Texas means heavily sprinkled keyboards and horns. Thus, he opens his debut with a full-tilt horn barrage to propel this guitar on "Night Stomp." The slow blues "Times Are Slow" features the baritone-tenor combination normally associated with the blues of Dallas. He also calls on the horn boys to close out the disc on Michael Bloomfield and Nick Gravenites' funky, double-entendred "Working Man." In between, Pittman bares down to the basics: gobs of guitar.
Hound Dog Taylor's "Give Me Back My Wig" accelerates the string assault to a frantic pace. Unfortunately, his vocals don't keep up; they tend to whisper rather than growl. Not so on the true story about the "Dallas City Police"--here, Pittman uses a plaintive vocal to universalize his true run-in with the law. Piano, horn and Albert King-styled guitar drive "You Sure Drive a Hard Bargain" with a soulfulness that simmers to a boil. The Texas shuffle this Oklahoma native learned hearing people such as U.P. Wilson, Hash Brown and Andrew "Jr.Boy" Jones is the driving force behind "Watch Out Baby" and "She's Evil." Want to get up and boogie in the kitchen? Turn up the volume on "Trouble Come Around."
Knowing better than to overplay, Pittman keeps song times to less than four minutes. He sings with a slick maturity--there's no growling and no attempts to sing in the voice of someone he's not. This is one generation X'er who is no slacker.
Click on the CCNow image to purchase Shawn's CD.
