BIG SHANTY NEWS

BIG SHANTY
EIGHTEEN MONTHS ON GEORGIA ROOTS CHART
- THIS WEEK -

BIG SHANTY MOVING UP ON
CASHBOX ROADHOUSE BLUES SINGLES CHART !!

WEEK 7 !!

WEEK 6 !!

Jerry Davis, 103.9fm Quincy IL - I Recently I received your "Big Shanty" Collection CD and I'm happy to report that last week I made it the "Blues CD Pick of the Week" on my Sunday Morning show and featured two tunes from it. Immediately afterwards, I received a phone call from a local guitarist who used to tour nationally, and he told me that I was genius (it wasn't me-it was Shanty!) and he equaled hearing Big Shanty for the first time to his first time hearing the Talking Heads--it moved him so and he'll never forget it! I also got a text that simply said WOW!!!! I'm adding "Whiskey Woman" and "Born Up In Trouble" in the "Hourly Blues Mix", and will continue feeding folks more stuff from the Collection discs.

BIG SHANTY
ON GEORGIA ROOTS CHART
FOR 7TH STRAIGHT MONTH !!
- THIS WEEK -

BLUES MATTERS MAGAZINE - U.K.

(CLICK TO ENLARGE)

BIG SHANTY MOVES UP
ON THE NATIONAL
ROOTS BLUES CHART TO #16 !

(CLICK TO ENLARGE)

- REVIEWS -

Big Shanty: The Blues of Dreams
2012, King Mojo Records
Renegade blues-rocker Big Shanty's sonic rain of acid guitars and synth beats blasted across the Internet, Satellite and College radio in '07 with his anti-war song "Killing Fields" and went number-one for five-weeks on "Blues Critic" singles chart. Big Shanty's CD "Ride With The Wind" stayed top-ten in their album chart for five-months, his single was nominated as "Best Blues Song and Shanty was nominated as "Best New Artist". -Michalis Limnios Read more...

Big Shanty
Collection
2011, King Mojo Records
This double disc "collection" from electric slide guitarist and blues growler Big Shanty does exactly what it professes to do on several levels. First, as the title, "Collection" implies, it does a good job of introducing new fans to Big Shanty's work, as well as getting some very difficult to find tracks to the collectors. Second, it gets some live material out on the market. Third, and perhaps most importantly, it is sure to whet the pallet of fans of electric slide blues and encourage those new fans to discover his impressive catalog.
Big Shanty isn't trying to re-invent any wheels here... and to be honest, that's rather comforting. The studio disc does a great job of showcasing his thick, dense, bar-ready and earthy sound. The slide playing is way above average, and Shanty's vocals do justice to the material. Stylistically, he covers a pretty broad spectrum. The first few tracks are good, heavy rockin' blues, tracks that sound like they owe almost as much to some British blues axe grinders as they do to the delta. My personal favorite here is "They Say It's Raining;" the slide lines are a terrific compliment to the muted vocals, and the whole track has a fine sense of urgency to it.
However, don't go thinking Shanty is nothing but a grinder. Several of these songs are good, serious slow blues, and it's a real credit to his diversity that Shanty handles these with equal aplomb. "Queen Of Hearts Has Disappeared" is a shining example; Shanty's vocals and playing are nicely augmented by some superb keyboard work and again, the effect is heartfelt and seriously good. "Right Combination" is a real nice shuffle sort of number (even has some excellent horn work), and "Smoke And Mirrors Jam" does a nice job of showing Shanty's jazzier side.
Disc one makes this a worthwhile purchase on its own; the inclusion of the second disc makes it one of the best deals out there. This one is all live, and Shanty easily shows that he's every bit as comfortable on a stage as he is in a studio... and probably more. His band is joined by a few friends here and there (including Col. Bruce Hampton, and I've been a Col. Bruce fan for a long time now), which is as it should be. The band plays well, Shanty's vocals are husky and effective; I think the highest compliment I can pay this disc is that it got me to look him up on the web and see if he's going to be playing live anywhere near me any time soon. Not just now, but you can bet I'll keep an eye open for the chance to catch him live as soon as I can.
Simply said, "Collection" is a very welcome addition to any blues library. Might not be anything that re-invents the wheel or breaks new ground, but that's okay. Big Shanty does what he does well, and to these ears, that's more than enough. -Silver Michaels

Think of a busted-up backwoods shack stuffed with revelers in front of a revved-up unorthodox blues band with chops galore and balls to match. That'll give you an idea of what Big Shanty is all about. Dick Wooley began working radio promotion in 1967, first at Atlantic Records, then at the Capricorn label during its heyday. Now, as Big Shanty, he leads his band with preacher-like intensity, a guitar, not a briefcase, strapped to his shoulder. The music on Collection may be Southern in nature and blues at the root, but it's taken by the neck and twisted up good. Among the rare live tunes from 2004 are the blazing "World Of Trouble" and the "Smoke & Mirrors" jam, wich derives purely from the 1970s hit-making days of The Allman Brothers Band. By the time he grapped headlines in 2007 with "Ride With The Wind", he was creating rousing, revolutionary music. "Killing Fields, a spit and growled indictment of war, comes complete with Shanty's Hendrix-ian guitar swirling above like an iron bird dropping napalm. "Uncle Sam Go To Rehab" sounds like Black Sabbath offering an antidote to the shockingly accurate effects of the "New Messiah" Big Shanty clangs the bell the he's in the house to devour the norm. (KingMojo.com)

Big Shanty - Collection - King Mojo Records
This two-disc set is a compilation of tracks by Big Shanty (aka Dick Wooley), a singer with rough, hard as nails voice who also plays a mean slide guitar. Pulled from several studio recordings and one long out-of-print live disc, some of the cuts are from the Ride with the Wind release, which was named the #1 Blues Album of the Year for 2007 by Real Blues, a Canadian blues publication.... Read more...

BIG SHANTY - COLLECTION
CD REVIEW
"Got my own way and it works just fine." So growls Big Shanty amid the greasy funk blues of "Stop Pushing Me," second cut on the first of this two-disc, 19-song overview of his impressive musical endeavors. Well, it has indeed worked out just fine for the big man since he stormed into the blues world with 2004's World of Trouble and has continued marching on like Sherman to the sea, adopting a strictly scorched earth policy as he goes. A triple-threat writer/singer/slide guitarist, Shanty attacks most of his songs with impunity and a foul disposition, because this is serious business indeed. . Read more...

NASHVILLE BLUES SOCIETY: Review By Sheryl and Don Crow. Bluesman Big Shanty burst onto the scene with his 2007 release, "Ride With The Wind." With no major corporate sponsorship and nothing but word-of-mouth and internet buzz to generate interest, he has amassed sales of over one million downloads of his material through his indie label website, kingmojo.com. He's back with his latest offering, "Collection," a two-CD powerhouse consisting of fourteen studio tracks and five red-hot live tracks reissued just for this release.
Big Shanty is in a category all his own, and is indeed an enigma of sorts, but remains true to the blues in every sense of the word. Some pundits refer to his style as "death metal blues" or "heavy metal funk." And, while it's true that he does lay down a mean array of buzzing guitar and a rain of sonic techno-blues, he does so with a verve and raw passion that is rare among today's players. His love for the blues has brought out some fine guest stars on this set, including the legendary Col. Bruce Hampton and former Wet Willie bassist Jack Hall.
The freedom one gets from riding a motorcycle is the theme of the set-closing "Ride With The Wind," from his aforementioned debut, while the leadoff cut "Whisky Woman," is a tribute to bikers, their babes, and the late Jim Morrison. An eerie guitar riff opens "The New Messiah," a sly look at some TV evangelists and their real agendas, which also features a fine gospel backing chorus. The live tracks, recorded at the House Of Jam, include a smokin' piano-and-sax-driven "Right Combination," and a nine-minute Allman-ish jam entitled "Smoke And Mirrors."
We had two favorites, too. Big Shanty has always had his finger on the pulse of today's society, and "Killing Fields" hits home hard with its anti-war sentiment and lyrics that beg the question "When will we ever learn" that war is not the answer. And, Shanty gets in a sly parting shot to the Bush years with "Uncle Sam Go To Rehab," and its lyrics, "Uncle Sam you were a friend of mine, until you got hooked on that crude oil line." Shanty's snarling vocal and searing slide drives this one home with the power of a right cross to the chin.
Big Shanty is a bluesman for those who want more than three chords and a cloud of dust with their blues. He's got a great contemporary sound with hard-hitting socially-explicit lyrics that characterize the cuts on "Collection," a set not to be missed!! Until next time....Sheryl and Don Crow.

Big Shanty - Collection
I recommend Collection, partly because I've always liked music to which the adjective "swampy" can be applied. If you want swampy, I'm here to tell you that's Shanty's natural environment. Lots of what's here sounds vaguely like a bluesier, louder, grittier Creedence Clearwater Revival, and there are Jimi Hendrix influences and references, plus -- I'm sure -- others from rock bands I've never heard. On the other hand, none of this feels imitative ... Read more...

Big Shanty - Collection
Think of a busted-up backwoods shack stuffed with revelers in front of a revved-up unorthodox blues band with chops galore and balls to match. That'll give you an idea of what Big Shanty is all about. Dick Wooley began working in the music biz in 1967 and became a radio promotion legend for the Atlantic and Capricorn labels. Now, as Big Shanty, he leads his band with preacher-like intensity, a guitar, not a briefcase, strapped to his shoulder. The music on Collection may be Southern in nature and blues at the root, but it's taken by the neck and twisted up good. Among the rare live tunes from 2004 are the blazing "World of Trouble" and the "Smoke & Mirrors" jam, which derives purely from the 1970's hit-making days of The Allman Brothers Band. By the time he grabbed headlines in 2007 with Ride With The Wind, he was creating rousing, revolutionary music. "Killing Fields," a spit and growled indictment of war, comes complete with Shanty's Hendrixian guitar swirling above like an iron bird dropping napalm. "Uncle Sam Go To Rehab" sounds like Black Sabbath offering an antidote to the shockingly accurate effects of the "New Messiah." Big Shanty clangs the bell that he's in the house to devour the norm. (KingMojo.com) - Tom Clarke

GUITAR INSTRUCTOR.COM - by Michael Mueller - "Collection" Big Shanty - With his fuzz-drenched, exploding-out-of-your-speakers sound, Big Shanty has been labeled by some as "death metal blues." The analogy may be a bit overstated, but this 19-song 2-CD set is certainly more akin to Jimi Hendrix than it is to Muddy Waters. Visit KingMojo.com for more info.

DOWNBEAT MAGZINE: "Guitarist Big Shanty's great thrill is to fire up blues in a riotous manner that bolsters old-school Southern blues-rock with jam-band hell-raising and acid-tossed-in-your-face techno blues."

CRAWDADDY MAGAZINE: "Big Shanty comes on like a rip snortin', fire breathin' son of a swamp dog with whiskey breath harsh enough to blister the chrome on a Harley."

Blues In The Digital Age: by David W. King - Big Shanty's sonic rain of acid guitars and incendiary beats has captivated fans all over the globe in search of something outside the blues/rock mainstream, and the tracks on Collection deliver that in spades. By word of mouth and the internet, the buzz about Big Shanty has spread world-wide, with fans registering over one million downloads from his indie label website, www.kingmojo.com. Big Shanty has successfully navigated through the music business maze without the benefit of big corporate radio, corporate media sponsorship slick videos or any of the trappings in the star-making machinery of the music business.

BIG SHANTY PLAYLISTS

KIPO 89.3 FM Honolulu
"Special Edition of the Blues Revue" April 30, 2011

On The Streets - Richie Rich And The Chi Town Blues Band Track 12 From The Streets
Right Combination - Big Shanty Disc 1 Track 6 Collection
All Aboard - Muddy Waters Track 1 Fathers And Sons

WMHB Top 40 Blues Chart, APR 2011

15. BUDDY GUY - Living Proof
16. STERLING KOCH - Slide Ruler
17. JEALOUS BONE - I Ain't Superstitious
18. KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD BAND - Live! in Chicago
19. BIG SHANTY -Collections

WCNI - New Release Blues Playlist - April 2011

49. Kelley Hunt - Gravity Loves You - 88 Records
50. Steve Miller Band - Let Your Hair Down - Roadrunner Records
51. Larry Taylor - They Were In This House - Wolf Records
52. Big Shanty - Collection - King Mojo Records

Blues Therapy Radio - 5-01-11

Big Shanty - Love Train - Collection
Los Fabuloco - I Never Thought - Dos
Los Fabuloco - The Vibe - Dos
Big Shanty - Queen of Hearts Has Disappeared - Collection
Big Shanty - Stop Pushing Me - Collection