Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions

Shannon Curfman

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 28, 1999)
• Original Release Date: September 28, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Arista
• ASIN: B00001NTQZ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (124 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #127,637 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
What is it about Fargo, North Dakota? The town that gave us Jonny Lang, young guitar-slinger of the 1990s, now presents Shannon Curfman... young guitar-slinger of the 1990s. Rereleased on Arista Records, Curfman's debut, Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions was recorded when the guitarist was only 13. But you'd never guess it by listening to her play; although her style doesn't have the distinctive stamp that will come with experience, she's more than competent. And her singing voice sounds like it belongs to someone twice her age. Though the comparisons to Bonnie Raitt may be a bit premature, Curfman's got just as much potential as any of the other young blues-rockers littering the landscape these days, if not more. It'll be most worthwhile to hear how she develops; Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions may well be the debut of the next queen of blues guitar. --Genevieve Williams

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A top-notch debut!, December 7, 1999

By A Customer

It's easy to call Shannon Curfman the female equivalent of such hot-shot guitar-slingers as Jonny Lang, especially since Lang not only appears on her debut Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions, he co-wrote a few songs with her as well. It is true that Curfman does play modern blues-rock that recall Lang's, but it's not a direct copy, it's simply informed by the same influences. She has her own voice, one that's a little bolder and gutsier than Lang's. Throughout the record, her singing is impassioned and the playing is fiery with blistering fretwork, a top-notch debut. She sings with more conviction and plays guitar with the tone and tastefulness of someone twice her age, but she's also a fine songwriter. Highlights include a self-penned blues strut, "Few and Far Between," in which she lets her voice range from sweet to gruff and the Allman Brothers-influenced "Love Me Like That". When she growls her way through "Playing With Fire," a gritty retelling of the classic "bluesman sells soul for unearthly ability" legend, you had to wonder whether she was singing from first-hand experience, connecting the lines between Robert Johnson and Jimi Hendrix. The Eric Clapton-like love ballad "If You Change Your Mind" is also very good. But her style is not flashy or self-indulgent. There's an economy to her brilliant but succinct runs around the fret board. In the sassy "I'm Coming Home." so eerily mature is her delivery that she can pull off the line "I'm headin' down the interstate, takin' back my real estate" without reminding you she's still a few years away from getting her driver's license. If you like the blues/rock of Jonny Lang and Kenny Wayne Shepherd, you'll LOVE this CD!

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This album should put all the teen pop queens to shame!, July 9, 2000

By	Carly (TX) - See all my reviews

Shannon Curfman doesn't have bleached blonde hair, she doesnt sing songs like "Candy" or "Genie in Bottle", she doesn't have all the "hot" dance moves so how does she pull it off? It's a little something called TALENT! Shannon sings from her soul, she makes your believe every song on her album, she co-wrote 7 songs on her CD and believe it or not, she plays an instrument. This is real music, whether her songs come from experience or not, she puts everything shes got in it. From the bluesy sounds of "No Riders" and "Few and Far Between" to the radio friendly ballads "I dont make promises I cant break" and "If you change your mind" to rockin' songs like "True Friends" and "Playing with Fire" to the two cover songs "The Weight" and "Hard to Make a Stand" Shannon covers it all! This is one of the most rounded albums I've ever listened to.

If you like the CD, you HAVE to see her live, she'll blow you away! She is sooooooo much better live plus she is a nice person!

Overall, this CD was worth every dollar!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Holy Smokes...Shannon Rocks., January 9, 2005

By	John Connors "nerdus_maximus" (Colchester, VT United States) - See all my reviews

Holy Smokes, Shannon Curfman rocks solid in this debut CD. I just took a flyer on this CD based on the coveted & mystical Amazon referral-recommendation system along with customer reviews. My favorite tracks are "Far and Few Between", "True Friends", and "I Don't Make Promises". She holds her own with ground with her rendidion of extremely familiar "The Weight" by The Band which as been done by more than one heavyweight in the music world including one of my favorite Aretha Franklin. Curfman's vocal are strong, bluesy, and mature.

If that wasn't enough, her guitar work is great. The accompanying session artists are top-shelf.

I am still playing tracks from this album regularly.

If you can pick up the CD for less than $10, it is an
"automatic buy" in my book. If Shannon Curfman was scheduled to play in my area, I would find the time to go to the show.