CD
Review
"Life
In The Jungle"
by
the
Walter Trout Band
Guaranteed to Amaze! (05/29/02)
Ruf Records is holding a bunch of Walter Trout
recordings made in Europe for reissue in the US. They have just released
the first one, Life In The Jungle, by the Walter Trout Band. I am
SO happy now! If you haven't heard Walter Trout, let's get to it. He put
me in this business, as his Go The Distance album was the first
album I ever reviewed. I got to meet him in Nashville and was able to
interview him. His guitar playing blows my head off. Suffice it to say
that Jimi & SRV have nothing on this guy. The perfect mix of Blues and
Blues Rock guitar playing meet in his work and, if you haven't heard
Walter play the guitar, you had better make it a priority.
The cover shows us a young Walter Trout tearing
the heads off a Danish crowd at Midtfyn Festival in 1989. I can tell you
that I wish I had been there. I can also tell you that Walter Trout was
voted one of the top five guitar players in the world in Europe in a poll
at the BBC. We're talking about the likes of Page, Beck, Clapton, Hendrix
and others. Why? He's a phenomenon! I don't know anyone alive who plays
with such fire and feeling as Walter. From "Good Enough To Eat,"
the rousing Blues Rock opener on the CD, every tune is filled with some
SERIOUS guitar and harp. If you have never heard Trout, prepare to be
amazed. You will have to include Walter Trout among your favorite guitar
players from this point on.
One thing that amazes me on this release is
Walter's harp playing. I didn't even know he played harp; his guitar has
always been enough for me. But here is some great harp! I am going to ask
him about this harp-playing stuff next time I see him. What gives, Walter?
He is just very serious about the music. He has the right attitude—which
is—play everything like there's no tomorrow. No Fear! It takes guts to
play "Red House" and kick it out with no apologies to Hendrix.
Trout's ending tune, "Serves Me Right To Suffer" never fails to
amaze my friends who think they have heard all the great guitar players
around. HA!
Talk about trips--wait until you hear the tricks
Trout has up his sleeve on "Cold, Cold Feeling." This isn't done
with a pedal. It's done with the straight guitar and volume knob. Real
Blues and real feeling done live! Falling into "Serves Me Right To
Suffer" only makes the crowd lose its mind. What a performance! I
know that Walter doesn't care about purist Blues ethics. He really cares
about the music and immerses himself in his playing. No holds barred, this
is some great guitar. If you love lead guitar, this CD will curl your
toes.
In my mind, a great player has the ability to be
expansive in his repertoire. The ability to express a broad sense of
rhythm, melody, genre and style above the ordinary is what makes the
difference. Trout's been absorbing the great licks and styles of the most
legendary guitarists of the European theatre for a long time. He's got it
all down. Although he's from California, he played most of his long career
in Europe. He is loved there and well known. He plays here in the US most
of the time now. Outside of the Blues cats that go to the festivals,
nobody knows who he is. This is Criminal. Wake up, America! Wake up Radio!
Wake up Everybody! Walter Trout's here and he's as good as it gets. Have I
said enough?
© 2002, Gary W. Miller
(Published by Blueswax, 05/29/2002.)
DJGaryBlues.com
