Reese Wynans and friends – Sweet release

Keyboard player Reece Wynans has a career that’s already spanned over 50 years. He was a member of Second Coming in the late 60s, he joined Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble in 1985 and remained with them till Stevie Ray Vaughan’s death. In more recent years he’s played with the likes of Hank Williams Jr, Brooks & Dunn, Ana Popovic, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and in 2015 he replaced Derek Sharinian as touring keyboard player for Joe Bonamassa.

For this album Reece Wynans plays piano and organ and has drafted in a few friends to help out on the other instruments and vocals. Well, when I say a “few” friends, it’s actually a very long list (far too many to list in this review), but a few names are Mahalia Barnes, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Doyle Bramhall II, Joe Bonamassa and Warren Haynes.

The opening track is “Crossfire” featuring Reece Wynans (keyboards), Sam Moore (vocals), Kenny Wayne Shepherd (guitar), Jack Pearson (guitar), Chris Layton (drums), Tommy Shannon (bass) and The Texicali horns (trumpet & saxophone). Check it out…

There’s some superb guitar playing from Kenny Wayne Shepherd in “Say what!” which works really well with the organ played by Reece Wynans. It’s a great lively instrumental.

There’s a really diverse selection of music on this album, including old-school piano based blues on “I’ve got a right to be blue”, funk laden R&B on “That driving beat”, solo piano (Blackbird) and slightly rockier songs such as the cover of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Crossfire”

The final track on the album is a simple one – no vocals and only one instrument, the piano. It’s a lovely piece of music to end the album.

It may have taken him 50 years to release his first album under his own name, but Reece Wynans has made sure it was worth the wait – this really is a superb album.

Track listing:

1. Crossfire
2. Say what!
3. That driving beat
4. You’re killing my love
5. Sweet release
6. Shape I’m in
7. Hard to be
8. Riviera paradise
9. Take the time
10. So much trouble
11. I’ve got a right to be blue
12. Soul island
13. Blackbird