Shannon Curfman [Loud Guitars Big Suspicions]
Back in 2001, i set in motion a new programme to discover new music, i would go into a big store record in London, and just systematically search through the racks, singling out discs that looked absolutely stunning, that was the only consideration, forget about the actual music!, i picked up some phenomenal discs this way, some real duds too!, but it widened my musical love no end, i got into some genres / Artists that i wouldn't have otherwise tried, this is one of the first i got, and i'm so glad i did, and looking at her website, it reminds me to check out her other albums also.
Here's Shannon Curfman singing 'Playing With Fire' on YouTube.
Shannon Curfman is American, born in 1985, she's was 26 last week, she recorded this album in 1999 at the tender age of 14!, but her songwriting and vocal skills are such that she sounds like a Blues veteran!, like i said above, the visuals for this release are stunning, both the booklet and the back insert are lighted wonderfully, great poses too, a really great product all round.
I enjoyed tracks 2, 4 & 6-8, but it's always been track 2 'No Riders' which remains my favourite track, the intro sounds like an electric mandolin [Kevin Bowe], but it could be Shannon Curfman playing the guitar, this riff really makes the whole piece [0:00-0:10], very old time delta bluesy, when the chorus bursts in [0:43+] so do the drums, a nice ratcheting up of another notch, the vocals and drums [Michael Bland] fit together perfectly, the second verse is fantastic, things quiet down with the acoustic mandolin playing solo [1:46+], and the start of the verse is sparse and restrained [1:50+], but the drums and harmonica [Pat Hayes] burst in [1:58+], making a superb transition, it's a fantastic Blues track, really developing a great intensity.
