Memphis-based roots rocker John Paul Keith follows his acclaimed 2016 release Memphis Circa 3AM with his fourth solo effort, Heart Shaped Shadow – a polished combination of honky-tonk, r&b and alt country/roots rock sounds. For Heart Shaped Shadow, Keith enlists some of Memphis’ best musicians who include the likes of: Marc Franklin (The Bo-Keys; trumpet), Art Edmaiston (The Bo-Keys; sax), bandmates from the quartet Motel Mirrors – Amy LaVere (bass) and Shawn Zorn (drums) – along with local studio mainstays Rick Steff and Gerald Stephens (keyboard). Album standouts include: the honky-tonk fueled “Leave Them Girls Alone”; the heartbreakers “Someday Someone’s Gonna Love Me” and “901 Number”; and the retro-sounding rockers “Do You Really Wanna Do It” and “Throw It On Me Baby.” Heart Shaped Shadow hits the sweet spot of tapping into the spirit of legends like Chuck Berry and Roy Orbison. I really enjoyed this record as well as the new Motel Mirrors release, In the Meantime. – Written by JFelton
SIMILAR | Wanda Jackson, Pokey LaFarge, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins