“‘Save Me’ is a song of a spiritual battle about being on the run from the devil. The song certainly gives a nod to the story and music of Robert Johnson.” —Shane Henry
With upwards of six independent releases dating back to 2000, Shane Henry has steadily worked toward the blues-pop fusion achieved on his latest single and upcoming eleven-song album, Light in the Dark, due in stores on April 28th. Having performed alongside numerous legends such as B.B King (over 30 supporting gigs) and Buddy Guy as well as soul royalty, Etta James and the Neville Brothers in particular, Henry’s blues acumen speaks for itself.
In small town Oklahoma, the Beatles and Hendrix found him first, but these early influences soon gave way to the Claptons and the Reddings of the world, setting Henry on an unwavering course towards a promised land of blues and soul.
As expected, Henry’s latest number “Save Me” maintains a lean blues edge throughout, including welcome helpings of both mean harp and guitar riffage, but he also ensures that the Gospel roots of his music are never in question. Through singing of salvation and reformation, Henry steers clear of the road to ruin and instead opines a prayer of upliftment, actively seeking to override the pain and discomfort of broken dreams with the lyrical spirit and ardent fretwork to renew them once more.
To be sure, Henry’s vision of the blues holds true to his cherished heroes of yesteryear, but perhaps his largest gamble comes in the form of the infectious, pop-charged sounds that dominate the chorus, and in this merging of the old and the new, Henry demonstrates an unflinching openness, a kind that just might allow him to break on through.
