I would say, Al, that the guitar player on "Hard Times" (and even more so on "Back Door Blues") is faster and far more technical, especially in the right hand, than Jaydee Short was on any of his early titles that he recorded played in E in standard tuning. Moreover, the singing does not sound like Jaydee, who in that period sang with a fast vibrato, almost a tremolo. The singing on the Joe Stone cuts is much more diffident than the singing on Jaydee's recordings, where he just blasts.
As a contrast, compare the R. T. Hanen cuts, which have also been attributed to Jaydee, as a vocalist. To me, the R. T. Hanen cuts do sound like Jaydee, whereas the Joe Stone cuts do not. I don't mean to downgrade Jaydee's playing in any way, he's one of my favorites of that era, but he never played anything recorded under his own name that was anywhere near as technical as "Hard Times" or "Back Door Blues".
All best,
Johnm
