The great Dave Mason died on April 19th, one month short of hitting 80, and hitting various marks and hurdles has always been his thing. Back in 2015, the veteran told this scribe, when asked about his career arc, “Hopefully, I haven’t hit the highest point. And lowest? There really hasn’t been one. You just go and do what you’re doing”: and that’s as fine a summary of what the English artist used to do as it gets.
It never feels good when an artist re-records their classic album from scratch, as such an approach speaks volumes of creative stagnation at play, yet this rule doesn’t apply when the blues come calling. Kenny Wayne Shepherd‘s first platter “Ledbetter Heights” felt like a breath of fresh air back in 1995, because the 18-year-old musician demonstrated a great depth of vision in his chosen genre, but the genre in question requires a real maturity, which is tied to a person age. That’s why, perhaps, Shepherd decided to mark the three-decade anniversary of his debut with a new version of the same set.
He recorded with Tim Hardin and produced Long John Baldry, he arranged strings for THIN LIZZY and RENAISSANCE and conducted orchestras onstage with FACES, he worked with such different artists as AIR SUPPLY and BAD COMPANY, he credited on the records by Steve Harley and Rodriguez – and yet the fame and fortune he deserves somehow escaped Jimmy Horowitz. However, staying in the shadows was never Jimmy’s intent either, so it’s about time we shine a light on the great things he’s done since the ’60s.
When artists say they embark on the farewell tour, there’s always a doubt, although when they’re about 80 years of age, such doubts are hardly unfounded, yet when musicians say a forthcoming album will be their last, one is often inclined to believe. That’s how it goes for Snowy White, whose 2025 platter "Unfinished Business" suggested he was willing to deliver quite a few more records, but the veteran’s fresh offering might very well be his parting opus.
This year has seen a resurgence of interest in RAINBOW, possibly because a new box set, spanning the first two years of Ritchie Blackmore’s band, was released recently, so it’s only fitting that a new tribute album to this ensemble is about to delight those who like such things. Still, even those who don’t might find the multi-artist collection titled “Ride The Rainbow” interesting, because it seems to be the first project of the kind to feature no fewer than five former members of the group: four out of five vocalists who served with the outfit – Graham Bonnet, Joe Lynn Turner, Doogie White and Ronnie Romero – as well as bassist Bob Daisley and keyboard player Don Airey.
