Chris Shutters With Special Guest Jimmy Burns Good Gone Bad

Chris Shutters With Special Guest Jimmy Burns
Good Gone Bad
Third Street Cigar Records

The genesis of this collaboration is from when Strutters played at an open mike that Burns was hosting at Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago. They connected that night, shared stories, and exchanged phone numbers. Almost ten years later, Shutters called Burns, and that ended up with them making hopeful plans for what became this recording. They share the vocals, and both play guitar. Shutters also plays bass and drums on some tracks. Others on this recording include bassists Bryon Harris Jr. (who also plays drums), Frank May, drummer Danny Jahns, harmonica player Tony Shutters, saxophonist Art Bishop, and keyboards from Rick Warner and Mike Huffman.

It is a well-played and sung recording even if Chris Shutters occasionally leans towards a blues-rock guitar style. There is an interesting contrast on the four tracks that Burns takes the lead vocal with those by Shutters. The feel of Burns' performances being pretty much in the manner of his Delmark albums. The relaxed grooves are quite similar, and Burns guitar and singing are in fine form. This relaxed approach is in contrast to Shutters' sometimes frenzied approach as on the opening title track with its race neck tempo.

A particularly exceptional track is Burns' "Miss Annie Lou," which also features a strong sax solo. Other selections by Shutters are a bit more relaxed, such as his tribute to B.B. King, "Can't Play The Blues Like B.B." At the slower tempo here, he sings with assured authority. Despite its blues-rock trappings including the wah-wah guitar, "Unwind" also displays Shutters' singing to considerable effect. Shutters pulls out all the stops on his guitar for the driving "Keep You Satisfied," with Burns adding a backing vocal.

If at times Chris Shutters rocks his blues a bit too much for this listener's taste, this is overall, a solid collaboration. Burns is in excellent form, and Shutters is mostly an authoritative singer. There is a nice mix of material, and "Good Gone Bad" should appeal to a wide range of blues lovers.

I received my review copy from Third Street Cigar Records. This review appeared in the March-April 2020 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 389) although a few minor changes have been made to the review as published. Here is a video of Chris Shutters performing.