Shane Dwight - Plays the Blues - R-Tist Records 2009

The first half of the ten track Plays the Blues contains studio music that gets off on the right foot with "Bad News Morning," a song that features great harp by Rosy Rosenblatt, and a special appearance on slide guitar by the legendary "Steady Rollin" Bob Margolin.

The disc keeps the Blues alive from there on, and it's kind of like listening to an LP record, because once the studio recordings have hit their last note, Plays the Blues turns to a slice of Dwight's live show: five tracks of charasmatic Blues Rock and showmanship.

Shane Dwight has been described as an artist that refuses to be tied down to one genre, with a background playing Blues, Rock, Jazz, and more. Never is this fact more present than on the track "She's So Sweet," which tosses juke joint Blues, honky tonk, and old school Rock & Roll into a blender, and creates a concoction tastes good to the soul.

Dwight penned and arranged every song on the album. "You're Gonna Want Me" features terrific vocals by Dwight, and some killer piano by Jim Hawthorne. On the flip side of that, Danny Hull's saxophone on the live "Don't 'B' Flat" is a sheer knockout.

"Ode to Albert" and "Boogie King," the last two cuts on the album, make you want to run to your computer and see if Shane Dwight is coming to your town. He breaks down into classical showmanship on the CD's final song, "Boogie King," wowing the listener as much as crowd that the song was recorded in front of.

Shane Dwight is a young musician with an incredible future ahead of him, and a career that can pretty much go in any direction he chooses. If I had my say, though, I would hope for more great Blues like the tracks found on Plays the Blues.

Standout Tracks: "She's So Sweet," "Have Some of That," "Ode to Albert"

Preview and purchase songs from the album Plays the Blues by Shane Dwight.