“V” – Kenny Vaughan – A Review
I heard this CD for the first time last night, this is a heads up, great CD, one of those that really caught me saying, like , this is great, Kenny has done so much under the radar, known as guitarist for Marty Stuart’s Fabulous Superlatives, He is a rare guitarist who is truly as good on acoustic as he is on electric, like Brent Mason and Bryan Sutton in one. TONE,TONe,TOne,Tone,tone. From “Country Music got a hold on me” to “Don’t Leave Home Without Jesus”, Kenny sparkles with the Superlatives as his backup band and Marty Stuart as his other guitarist.
Kenny has done lots of stuff in his musical career, even a dip in punk music. I first heard Him in a Mindy Smith CD from 04 called “One Moment More”. He has done lots of studio work. He spent some time in Lucinda Williams band. He took lessons from Bill Frisell, and went on from there. This record has a lot of flavor of swing in it and even a touch of surf style sound. His guitar playing is sensational in his own way. You really get to hear what he can do, when he is let free. “Wagon Ride” is a mid tempo instrumental that shows Kenny playing at his best, yet doing things in his own style, lots of reverb, real country rock. The lyrics to “The Things I Do” are down to earth and the song sort of shows his style of music. Him and Marty Stuart play very well together. Not many guests on this CD, just the Superlatives and Chris Scruggs, Oak Ridge Boys, Charles Treadway and Jeffrey Clemens.
The last song on the disc, “Don’t Leave Home Without Jesus” is a sincere tune about Christ. The overall sound quality is top notch, produced by Gary Paczosa, an icon of Nashville producers. The guy knows how to make an artist sound good. I mean, if you want to hear one of today’s best in his own element, This is a CD to get.