Scott Sharrard Saving Grace

Scott Sharrard
Saving Grace
We Save Music

Sharrard, for those like this writer who are not aware, was the late Gregg Allman’s Musical Director. On this release he takes center stage backed by the Hi Rhythm of Memphis (Howard Grimes on drums, Leroy Hodges on bass and Charles Hodges on organ), and the Swampers Of Muscle Shoals (Charles Gamble on drums, David Hood on bass and Spooner Oldham on a few selections), with Eric Finland on keyboards, Mark Franklin on trumpet (among horn players). Taj Mahal guests on the Greg Allman's last original (a collaboration with Sharrard), "Everything a Good Man Needs," on which Bernard "Pretty" Purdie is on drums. Except for Terry Reid's "Faith To Arise," Sharrard penned ten of the eleven songs (two being collaborations).

Sharrard's mix of blues, southern rock, swamp pop, and Memphis soul makes for quite an enjoyable release. He is a darn good singer with a soulful delivery, not as raspy as Allman, and a solid guitarist. The Southern rock heritage is perhaps most evident on Reid' s "Faith to Arise," with some tart slide guitar in the vein of the Allman Brothers set against Sharrard's moving singing. The title track, with Gamble, Hood, and Finland in the backing is a soulful, bluesy ballad soulfully sung. On "Everything a Good Man Needs," Taj Mahal handles the vocal, singing about how his baby's love keeps him humming and is all he needs. His strong vocal is backed Sharrard's crying slide guitar, tight riffing horns and a funky R&B groove.

"Angeline," with the Hi Rhythm Section is a Memphis funk take on swamp pop, while "Words Can't Lie," is simply a terrifically sung Memphis soul ballad. "She Can't Wait" is another southern soul-flavored original with the Swampers adding their own brand of funk as Sharrard sings about his part-time love leaving him full of despair. "Sweet Compromise," is a brassy uptempo blues with slashing guitar followed by another blues, "Tell The Truth," again with more high energy blues-rock guitar. Sharrard impresses by his focused, thoughtful playing as opposed to merely shredding.

There are some really good songs, fervent and moving vocals, excellent guitar as well and first-rate backing and production. This blues traditionalist was quite impressed by this recording. Dedicated to Rich Hall, Butch Trucks, and Greg Allman, Scott Sharrard does their memory proud on "Saving Grace."

A publicist provided my review copy. I have made stylistic changes to this review, which first appeared in the November-December 2018 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 381). Here Scott Sharrard performs "Angeline."