Nelson Norwood

Nelson Norwood, Long, Loud & Sweaty, Guapa Records.

Austin, Texas has always produced a bumper crop of blues guitarists, but Nelson Norwood veers off the path taken by most of that city’s six-string hotshots. Norwood is a rocker, with a sound that falls somewhere between The Rolling Stones, Humble Pie, Trapeze and Jimi Hendrix. Norwood’s guitar work is meaty and sharp and he knows when to step up to the plate and when to saunter out of the batter’s box. His playing is Stevie Ray Vaughan-inspired at times (but he never grandstands) and there’s a definite Keith Richards influence in terms of his rhythm riffs. Having Double Trouble bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton onboard doesn’t hurt either. - Bob Cianci- River Reporter

Featuring the rhythm section, Double Trouble, that graced Stevie Ray Vaughan's albums, Austin's Nelson Norwood has released his new CD Long, Loud N' Sweaty. The album is a blues/rock showcase with shades of the Black Crowes and the Rolling Stones in the songwriting, along with Austin's blues guitar impressions and traditions. The title track, in particular, is a saucy, blues-drenched-but-edgy number which makes the point that perhaps you can party too hard, while "Hooked On You" is a muscular shuffle in the Vaughan form, which finds Norwood spewing blues-laced licks soaked in wah-wah. "Girl Friend Experience (GFE)" is another standout, a stomping rock number dedicated to the, ah, call girl trade. Fans of high energy music played with conviction and serious musicianship should check out Long, Loud N' Sweaty - the first of probably a long string of CDs by this Texas guitarist. - Guitar Nine