|
Blues Underground Network |
Back To Blues Underground Network |
Joe Louis Walker
"Between A Rock And The Blues"
(Stony Plain Records)
|
Reviews and Info One of the most surprising things about Joe Louis Walker - apart from his skills as a singer, guitarist, songwriter and producer - is the impact he has had as a performer who proves to international audiences that the blues are alive and very well indeed. Only B.B. King has taken the blues further, and to more destinations, than Walker. Now, with a new internationally-released album on the Canadian roots music label Stony Plain, he's ready to pack his suitcase once again. "Witness to the Blues" is a tour de force - a varied, smart, funny, hard-edged collection of blues that ranges from acoustic to rockin' horn-laden material that reminds you of Stax in its heyday. Walker handles the vocals (including a duet with young blues diva Shemekia Copeland), plays acoustic, electric and slide guitar, and adds some harmonica solos as well. In fact, Joe Louis Walker, helped by guitar-master Duke Robillard (who produced the CD and played on many of the tracks), makes a major contribution to the much-needed campaign to bring the blues into the 21st century.
Joe Louis Walker - Between A Rock and the Blues! Joe Louis Walker has a brand new cd out this month called Between A Rock and the Blues and if you are not familiar with Joe’s enthusiastic take on all things blue then this is a body of work to take notice of. (Between A Rock and the Blues is his second album with the respected Canadian based Stony Plain record label but he has released twenty albums in total over his career.) Walker is no mimsy, wannabe poser but instead combines all the energy and licks of a Buddy Guy with a quietly intentional swing that may be partly attributed to arch producer and swing-God himself Duke Robillard who produced the lion’s share of tracks on this album. There’s some pretty impressive songwriting skills from Walker on show as well and that also makes this record distinctive from just another blues record for the masses. There are some very impressive musical personalities here to help Walker out. Kevin Eubanks well known of course for his guitar expertise and musical direction on The Tonight Show makes an appearance on two tracks (which he also helped co-write) namely I’ve Been Down and If There’s A Heaven and additionally, Eubanks provided his own studio in Los Angeles for Walker’s production of the tunes. I particularly like If there’s a Heaven which is gutsy and heart-felt and feels as though it was lifted from a vintage gospel radio station. (One that I would like to find!) Listen up for the insistent band in the background – ever present, always groovin’ – but completely tight and providing the perfect foil for Walker’s rasping and tortured vocals – which are superb. Some of the band members will be familiar names for anyone who is a follower of Duke Robillard. Doug James is here on sax and Bruce Katz on keyboards and that certainly helps to inject that telltale element of swing that is so often associated with Robillard. And of course I am a shameless fan myself - as regular readers will already know! (Hi Mum …) Haha. This cd is kind of all over the place in terms of blues style (and many with a rock tinged sensibility hence the clever album title) so really, this is the kind of record that could serve as both a ‘sampler” for those just dabbling in the blues as well as a hand-me-that-one for long car journeys or evenings in. Tell Me Why is another tune destined for the ‘repeat’ button and Walker really gives it his all – it’s all about that heavy chunky locomotive shuffle coupled with some really scalding guitarwork. (Incidentally, in spite of all his strenuous enquiries, I don’t think Joe ever really does find out why, does he …) Perhaps JLW’s greatest strength – aside from the ability to pull off some stinging, powerful guitar phrasing, I mean – is the completely believable passion that he brings to his records. Click on the play button below for some samples to listen to and see what you think.
Once again, leave it to Duke Robillard to dish up the talent, producing 10 of the 12 cuts here, playing on one, infiltrating that trademark Duke swing influence chockablock with Walker's own. I'm beginning to suspect he's not really human at all but rather a corporate pseudonym for a dozen unnamed individuals: the guy's busier than a one-legged man at a butt-kicking contest! Nonetheless, the highlight is Walker and his guitar, and you get plenty of both, what with jumping vocals alongside a band that keeps the rhythms nailed and the atmosphere hot. If There's a Heaven is grittier than hell, a chugachunk lowball number hopeful of redemption, an inflamed blues lament that digs way beneath the surface. Walker lays down a churning chordal structure as thick and dark as asphalt, then lofts several tightrope solos atop while singing of a lowdown past redeemed by repentance and good deeds, mounting to a burning "I don't wanna go back no mo'!"…and you believe every syllable. It's as good a conversion song as I've heard. If this isn't picked up by any number of rockers and bluesbands, I'll be amazed. When this guy gets his head of steam stoked and boiling, step back or you're going to get rolled over. Between a Rock and the Blues should bring Mr. Walker much more to the fore. Heaven alone is going to blow minds but the entire release will appeal to all and sundry with its New Orleans, Chicago, and God only knows how many other refrains. He started out way back when as a buddy to Mike Bloomfield…whose tragic death convinced him to change his ways, getting serious, for a while backing gospel groups and later playing with immortals like B.B. King and—excuse me while I bow to Mecca—Peter Green. Williams has been there, done that, and still finds endless ways to, as he himself says of his icons, keep it fresh. Expect, then to hear his surname rolling off a lot more tongues. Oh, and speaking of innovations, he penned what has to be one of the great riffs on an old old line: "I've been down so long, gettin' up never crossed my mind!" (and that cut, "I've Been Down", features Kevin Eubanks on second guitar; hot damn!).
“I want to be like Louis Armstrong and B.B. King. Play everywhere, all the time, as often as I possibly can. Travel anywhere there’s an audience for my music, take every opportunity, and keep playing and singing as well as I know I can.” Now, with his 20th album — and his second for Edmonton-based Stony Plain Records — he has put a spotlight on the powerful intersection where the blues and rock meet on common ground. Between a Rock and the Blues is a breakthrough; a testament to the truth of Muddy Waters’ assertion than the blues had a baby and they called it rock and roll. The CD is due Septe mber 29 in the U.S. and September 15 in Canada. The French label, Dixie Frog, has licensed the record for release in Europe. Ten of the album’s dozen tracks were produced by Stony Plain label-mate Duke Robillard, and feature a core band of Walker and Robillard on guitars, Bruce Katz on keyboards, Jesse Williams on bass, Mark Teixeira on drums, Doug James on sax, Carl Querfurth on trombone and Sugar Ray Norcia on harmonica. Kevin Eubanks, former music director of The Tonight Show, plays crunchy guitar on two tracks he co-wrote with Walker — ‘If There’s a Heaven’ (which manages to combine both blues and gospel in one amazing brew) and ‘I’ve Been Down.’ Both of these songs were recorded at Eubanks’ home studio in Los Angeles and produced by Walker. As the album’s title implies, Joe Louis Walker pushes the boundaries of the blues further than he has in the past, creating an exhilarating sound that has an electrifying energy, while remaining firmly rooted in his foundation of blues, soul, gospel and R&B. Some of the other cover songs on Between a Rock and the Blues include Ray Charles’ ‘Blackjack,’ Roy Gaines’ ‘Big Fine Woman’ and Travis Phillips’ ‘Eyes Like a Cat.’ Contemporary songs written by Duke Robillard (’Tell Me Why’) and Murali Coryell, (son of jazz/rock fusion guitar great Larry Coryell) add pepper to the mix. Coryell’s song, ‘Way Too Expensive,’ is a pertinent comment on the current economic situation. Tracklist 1. I'm Tide 3:56 Listen Here About Joe Louis Walker Multiple Grammy & WC Handy Award winner Joe Louis Walker is one of the most heralded blues artists of our time. JLW is a true powerhouse guitar virtuoso, unique singer & prolific songwriter who has toured the world religiously throughout his career and earned himself a legion of dedicated fans around the globe. He has recorded with the likes of BB King, James Cotton, Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, Huey Lewis, Branford Marsalis, Steve Cropper, Shemekia Copeland & Ike Turner, with a discography that counts 18 solo albums, 2 live DVDs, and countless compilations and guest appearances. Still recording and touring with a vengeance, JLW is already being referred to within the blues world as a "living legend." However, as Walker himself would say, "The best is yet to come!" JLW was born in 1949 in San Francisco. He came from a musical family, amidst the early influences of T-Bone Walker, BB King, Meade Lux Lewis, Amos Milburn, and Pete Johnson. Joe first picked up the guitar at the age of 8 and became a known quantity within the Bay Area music scene by the age of 16. While gigging through his teens, he soaked up many more influences (especially vocalists like Wilson Pickett, James Brown, Bobby Womack & Otis Redding). Over these early years, Joe's musical pupilage saw him playing with the likes of John Lee Hooker, JJ Malone, Buddy Miles, Otis Rush, Thelonius Monk, The Soul Stirrers, Willie Dixon, Charlie Musselwhite, Steve Miller, Nick Lowe, John Mayall, Earl Hooker, Muddy Waters, and Jimi Hendrix. By 1968, Joe had forged a close friendship with Mike Bloomfield (indeed, they were roommates for many years) which lasted up until Bloomfield's sad & untimely demise. This event was the catalyst that shook JLW into an immediate lifestyle change. He quit the blues and enrolled himself at San Francisco State University (where JLW achieved a degree in Music & English). Throughout this time, Joe was regularly performing with "The Spiritual Corinthians "gospel quartet". After a 1985 performance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Joe was inspired to return to his blues roots whereupon he formed the "Bosstalkers" and signed to the Hightone label. Under the auspices of Bruce Bromberg & Dennis Walker, his debut album "Cold Is The Night" was released to huge worldwide critical acclaim in 1986. He began a relentless touring schedule that took him to all the corners of the globe, and tirelessly managed to deliver a further 4 releases in succession for Hightone Records ("The Gift" 1988, "Blue Soul" 1989, "Live At Slims Vol 1" 1991, "Live At Slims Volume 2" 1992). "JLW" was released in 1994, featuring guests such as James Cotton, Branford Marsalis, and the Tower Of Power Horn-section. During this period, Joe's touring schedule had seen many reappearances at the world's most renowned music festivals (North Sea Jazz, Peer, Montreaux, Glastonbury, The Super Dome, San Francisco Festival, Russian River Jazz, Monterey, Jazz & Heritage, Sapporo Japan, Pistoia Italy, Byron Bay Australia, Cognac France, Ospel, Notodden Norway, Lucerne Switzerland, Beacon Theatre New York, etc.). JLW also spent many years covering all the major western TV networks (Conan O'Brien, Imus, Jools Holland UK, Inauguration for George W Bush, inducting BB King for President Clinton & Hilary Rodham Clinton into the Kennedy Centre Honors, Ono Filter Germany, Rock n' Roll Hall Of Fame) as well as numerous French, Dutch, Scandinavian, German, Irish, Spanish, Brazilian, Italian, Turkish, Japanese, Taiwanese, Australian and ex-Iron Curtain TV networks. "Blues Of The Month Club" was released in 1995, and was the first of three JLW albums that were co-produced with legendary Stax-man, Steve Cropper (NB. this album also featured appearances from the likes of The Memphis Horns & The Spiritual Corinthians, as well as Steve Cropper himself). This was followed up by the seminal release of "Great Guitars" in 1997, which became known as one of the best selling blues albums of the decade. Joe assembled a collection of friends & luminaries on this release, creating a body of work that was to become a timeless representation of its era. This myriad of album guests included the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Buddy Guy, Taj Mahal, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Otis Rush, Scotty Moore, Robert Lockwood Jr, Matt "Guitar" Murphy, Steve Cropper, Little Charlie Baty, Tower Of Power Horns, Ike Turner and many others... Also in 1996 JLW played guitar on James Cotton's "Deep in the Blues" a Grammy winning "Best Traditional Blues Album". In addition JLW won his third W.C. Handy Award for "Band of the Year" (1996) which was preceded by two W.C. Handy Awards for "Contemporary Male Artist of the Year" (1988 & 1991). JLW also won the 1995 Bammy (Bay Area Music Award) for Blues Musician of the Year. Joe then released "Preacher & The President" in 1998 and "Silvertone Blues" in 1999 (his 6th album for Polygram). The relentless stream of classic albums continued with "In The Morning" (Telarc 2002), "Pasa Tiempo" (Evidence 2002), "Guitar Brothers" (JSP 2002), "She's My Money Maker" (JSP 2003), "Ridin' High" (Hightone 2003), "New Direction" (Provogue 2004), "Playin' Dirty" (JSP 2006), "Witness To The Blues "(2008 SPCD), and "Between A Rock And The Blues" (2009 SPCD). Despite JLW's continued musical productivity at the turn of the new millenium, his personal life fell into crisis due to a difficult and traumatic divorce. This soon led to an alcohol and drug relapse after more than 20 years of sobriety & disciplined professionalism. JLW moved to France for 2 years and upon his return to the USA in December 2005 began a self-imposed regime of rehabilitation and recovery. Having successfully combated his addiction problems, Walker began touring again. Referring to this difficult period of his life, JLW attests to the old adage "what doesn't kill you can only make you stronger!" Needless to say, the best therapy for a road warrior is his art... JLW continues to invest his deepest emotions into his music, and the stark honesty of his performances continues to delight his fans. Additional Info Via Stony Plains Records In many ways, Walker's story is unusual. Born in San Francisco (on Christmas Day 1949) and now based in Westchester, New York, he was part of the Bay Area blues scene in his early teens, and by the time he was 16 he had soaked up the sounds of the likes of T-Bone Walker, Amos Milburn, and boogie woogie pioneers Meade Lux Lewis and Pete Johnson. As he grew up, he found himself on stage with such disparate tutors as John Lee Hooker, Thelonius Monk, the Soul Stirrers, Steve Miller and Jimi Hendrix. And by the time he was 19 he had built a close friendship - they were roommates for many years - with Mike Bloomfield. Bloomfield's tragic early death persuaded the young Walker to change his life. He enrolled at San Francisco State University, earning music and English degrees - and performing regularly with a gospel group, The Spiritual Corinthians. In 1985, he came back to the blues, fronting a new band he called The Bosstalkers, and making the first of five albums for the HighTone label, before signing to PolyGram's Verve/Gitanes label, for who he recorded another six albums. These records served as an entrée into the European market. Sterling appearances at major festivals throughout Europe (North Sea Jazz, Glastonbury, Nottoden and Montreux among them) led to further tours and festivals in Japan, Australia, Taiwan, Ireland, Turkey and Brazil. Along the way he played President George Bush's inauguration, helped President Bill Clinton induct B.B. King into the Kennedy Centre Awards, and performed on America's most-watched late-night television shows. Joe Louis Walker is a walking encyclopedia of blues history, and blues vocal and guitar styles. In fact, one of the very few who can match his eclectic tastes in music is Duke Robillard, the veteran guitarist who founded Roomful of Blues when he was a teenager, and who has made a dozen albums for Stony Plain. Holger Petersen, who heads the Canadian-based roots label, was delighted by the choice of Robillard as producer for "Witness to the Blues." And for Robillard, the sessions were a joy. "There's a lot of diversity on this CD, yet it hangs together really well." The material - more than half the 11 tracks were written by Walker - includes two traditional blues pieces (Sugar Mama and Rollin' and Tumblin') which he completely transforms. A highlight of the CD is a killer duet with Shemekia Copeland on the Peggy Scott & Jo Jo Benson classic, Lover's Holiday. The back up players are all musicians with long experience with Robillard, including horn players Doug James and Scott Aruda, Bruce Katz on keys, Jon Ross on bass and Mark Teixeira on drums. Robillard himself adds guitar parts on five cuts. Both vocally and instrumentally, Joe Louis Walker is indeed a "witness to the blues," and the creative, sometimes startling approach to America's most significant music holds a bright lantern for others to follow. Joe Louis Walker pays tribute to slide maestro Earl Hooker with a simmering rendition of 'Blue Guitar'.
http://www.myspace.com/joelouiswalker
|