2020 – Gulf Coast Records
By Phillip Smith; Dec. 12, 2020
It’s hard to believe two
years have passed since Kevin Burt released his break-out album, Heartland
& Soul. That was such a splendid
recording. Stone Crazy, his very
latest album is plumb phenomenal, built of songs focusing on his own
experiences in life, love, and relationships.
Burt proves once again, he is a superfecta of entertainment, with
his unique soulful vocals, harmonica mastery, insightful songwriting, and delicate
guitar styling. This time around, Burt
is working with Mike Zito and his label Gulf Coast Records. Zito not only produced the album, but
also appears on guitar, along with Doug Byrkit on bass guitar, Matthew
Johnson on drums, Lewis Stephens on keys, and Jimmy Carpenter
on saxophone.
With an enormous blast of juicy blues harp from Burt, the record opens with the infectious groove of “I Ain’t Got No Problem With It”. From this moment, I am hooked. I love the swampy slide guitar and harp combo on “Rain Keeps Coming Down”. This is pure blues, and it sounds fantastic.
Burt goes into troubadour-mode with title-track love ballad “Stone Crazy”. The song glistens with heart-felt soul. With one exception, this album consists of all original songs written by Burt. That exception is a of the Bill Withers’ flip side to his “Lean on Me” single “Better Off Dead”. Burt takes this funky-yet-intense, down-hearted song and definitely makes it his own.
The record comes to a deep and heady conclusion with the poignant “Got To Make a Change”. Burt’s performance is passionate and reflective. Stone Crazy is definitely an album you’ll want to own.
For more information about the artist, visit this website: http://kevinburtmusic.com/
Take a listen to the album on Apple Music, and if you decide to purchase it, use my special link.
