Joe Louis Walker
Great Guitars
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A recognized artist on the international Blues scene, Joe Louis Walker has not yet achieved to become a "Blues Giant", allthough he deserves this title. With his "Great Guitars" album, released in 1997, Walker makes his point by getting a dozen guitarists among the heap of contemporary Blues guitarists, to play with him, on one song apiece. Throughout the album, Joe Louis Walker is accompanied in turn by Little Charlie Baty, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Steve Cropper, Otis Grand, Robert Lockwood Jr., Taj Mahal, Scotty Moore, Matt "Guitar" Murphy, Otis Rush, Ike Turner and Bonnie Raitt, but remains careful to never be obscured by his guest's talent. He maintains control over the entire recording. Co-producer, author and composer of all the tracks (except for "Every Girl I See", performed with Buddy Guy), Walker also handles all the vocals alone, with the exception of Bonnie Raitt on "Low Down Dirty Blues". Plus, some of the guest contributors show up only for one single guitar solo. Some could have hoped for wild jamming and stretching out from this all-star cast. Yet, "Great Guitars" is to be considered as a "regular" Joe Louis Walker album, each song of which was recorded with a deluxe backup band. The style of the Blues recalls the sound of Robert Cray, positive Soul Blues, with clear loud horns, provided in turn by the "Johnny Nocturne Horns" and the "Tower of Power Horns", who were invited to chip in as well. |
TRACKS
| 1. | Low Down Dirty Blues (Walker) - 6:54 |
| 2. | First Degree (Walker/Turner) - 4:21 |
| 3. | Mile-Hi Club (Walker) - 6:06 |
| 4. | Fix Our Love (Walker) - 6:04 |
| 5. | Every Girl I See (Dixon/Murphy) - 5:59 |
| 6. | Cold And Evil Night (Walker) - 5:21 |
| 7. | Hop On It (Walker/Grand) - 2:23 |
| 8. | Nighttime (Walker) - 5:48 |
| 9. | Sugar (Walker) - 6:19 |
| 10. | In God's Hands (Walker) - 4:26 |
| 11. | High Blood Pressure (Walker) - 4:39 |
(Audio snippets in Windows Media format)
LISTENER COMMENTS
| Joe Louis Walker's Great Guitars does not quite meet expectations; as is so often the case with superstar guest-laden collaborations, the concept sounds better than the final product does; still, it has its moments. -- Steve Hoffman | |