Name: Watch Your Back
Brand: ADA [Wea 1-Stop Account]
SKU: 52841
Availability: OutOfStock

Watch Your Back

Rating

Album: Watch Your Back
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Old School	More Info...	0:04
2)	Story of My Life	More Info...	0:03
3)	I'm Gonna Leave You	More Info...	0:05
4)	What She Don't Know	More Info...	0:03
5)	I've Been Working	More Info...	0:04
6)	Get Busy	More Info...	0:03
7)	Let My Guitar Do The Talking	More Info...	0:05
8)	It Ain't The Fall That Kills You	More Info...	0:05
9)	A Little Less Conversation	More Info...	0:04
10)	Right Tool For The Job	More Info...	0:03

Album: Watch Your Back
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Old School	More Info...	0:04
2)	Story of My Life	More Info...	0:03
3)	I'm Gonna Leave You	More Info...	0:05
4)	What She Don't Know	More Info...	0:03
5)	I've Been Working	More Info...	0:04
6)	Get Busy	More Info...	0:03
7)	Let My Guitar Do The Talking	More Info...	0:05
8)	It Ain't The Fall That Kills You	More Info...	0:05
9)	A Little Less Conversation	More Info...	0:04
10)	Right Tool For The Job	More Info...	0:03

Performer Notes

Personnel: Guitar Shorty (vocals, guitar); Guitar Shorty; Vic Johnson (guitar); Jesse Harms (electric piano, percussion); Sweet William Bouchard (bass guitar); Alvino Bennett (drums, percussion).
Audio Mixer: Jesse Harms.
Liner Note Author: Marc Lipkin.
Recording information: Jim Dean's, San Rafael, CA; The Annex, Menlo Park, CA.
Photographer: Dan Monick.
"Paid my dues," repeats Guitar Shorty on "Old School," the opening track to his 2004 release, and that's no exaggeration. Although only his sixth album in a career that stretches back to the mid-'50s, Shorty, born David William Kearney, has been electrifying audiences with his guitar pyrotechnics (think Buddy Guy and Stevie Ray Vaughan) and on-stage gymnastics (think Nils Lofgren) since before Hendrix was sneaking into clubs to catch his act. But as he says in "Story of My Life," it's been a series of "tough breaks and bad decisions" before he has finally landed a high-profile shot at more visibility on Alligator, the foremost blues indie imprint. He meets the challenge with his most fiery and gutsy album yet, a tough and uncompromising slab of steely playing, no-nonsense singing, and solid songs. He's always been a gruff, fat-toned guitarist, but with no-frills production by pianist Jesse Harms (who also wrote and co-wrote five tunes), Shorty rips into these ten tracks sounding like he's young, hungry, and ready to explode. He machine guns into Elvis' "A Little Less Conversation" and Van Morrison's "I've Been Working" with an energy and intensity that nearly beat the originals, steamrolling through the solos like a major-league slugger swinging for the fences. The charging Bo Diddley beat of "Let My Guitar Do the Talking" places Shorty's style in that perfect combination of blues and rock, making it one of the album's most successful cuts. Between Shorty's sinewy guitar and a batch of blazing songs perfectly tailored to his rowdy approach, there isn't a weak track here. That makes Watch Your Back a welcome return for old fans and a perfect introduction for those new to Shorty's long career. ~ Hal Horowitz

Professional Reviews

Living Blues (p.65) - "Guitar Shorty is a blues-rock original. Screaming guitar couples with motorboat backup while Guitar Shorty's singing stays casual."