Monday, January 9, 2012

Shine reviewed by Denny Barker

Shine
Dani Wilde
RUF Records
www.rufrecords.de
11 Tracks/52:32

For the second time in recent months I have had the pleasure to review a solo CD by one of the participants of RUF Records "Girls With Guitars". The first was "Runaway",  from Kansas City native Samantha Fish, and now "Shine", the latest release by British born singer , writer, guitarist, Dani Wilde. Produced by blues veteran Mike Vernon (Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac, John Mayall) "Shine" features eleven tunes, nine of which were penned by Wilde. The CD opens with the title track, an upbeat toe tapper, with passionate vocal from Wilde and impressive harp work from Will "Harmonica" Wild (Dani's brother). Next, one of my favorite cuts, "Some Kinda Crazy" is an easy going tune with a hot guitar solo from Ben Poole and great vocal from Wilde.

A fine cover of the Stones "Miss You" fills the third slot, complete with a horn section, organ, and once again, some fine harp work from brother Will. Moving on to another of my favorites you"ll find Dani giving a strong
performance on "Red Blooded Woman", a well written tune that is a bit of a rocker. Up next, the mournful and dark "Don't Give Up On Me", is an interesting tune with a great solo from Stuart Dixon on guitar.

Dani then changes pace on "Abandoned Child", a slow bluesy tune featuring Laura Chavez on guitar, that was inspired by Ms. Wilde's visit to an orphanage in Africa. Up next is the upbeat "Born To Love Him' with Wilde delivering a fine vocal performance to go along with her unique finger picking guitar work. "Where Blue Begins",yet another of my favorites, has Dani delivering another great vocal performance, complemented with solid guitar work from Stuart Dixon, and
nice sax from Martin Winning.  Dani gives her all on this CD, and the result is, impressive vocals on well crafted tunes that you will listen to over and over. If you are not familiar
with Ms. Wilde, do yourself a favor and get a copy of "Shine", an apt title for a well done CD.

Reviewed by Denny Barker


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