Watch Your Back
Houston-born blues showman Guitar Shorty, who once taught his young brother-in-lawJimi Hendrixa few stage tricks, has been on the scene since 1957, blasting out rocking blues with over-the-top enthusiasm. His recording career, highlighted by a trio of fine Black Top releases in the '90s, has been unfortunately limited, butWatch Your Backmight finally put him in the spotlight. Much of the material, except for muscular reworkings ofVan Morrison's "I've Been Working" and the recently discofiedElvishit "A Little Less Conversation," comes from his producer and pianist Jesse Harms, and it effectively showcases Shorty's aggressive approach: a big sound short on subtlety but permeated with passionate vocals and searing guitar work. He simply overpowers the songs with his energy, and you can either go with the flow or get swept aside by its immediacy. The music is uniformly loud and in your face, just as you would expect from such an extroverted entertainer, and, more often than not, its sheer intensity overcomes any musical shortcomings.--Michael Point