Far too often, guitarist Joe Louis has been overlooked in favor of flashier or trendier bluesmen that grab more ink, get the headlines, and sign the lucrative festival dates. Not for lack of talent has Walker flown under the pop culture radar, as the guitarist has held his own on stages with folks as devastatingly skilled as Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, and John Lee Hooker. He has lots of musical experience, too, having performed in styles as diverse as psychedelic rock and gospel to soul and the blues.
Walker continues to soldier on, delivering one breathtakingly wonderful album after another for over 20 years, eight titles this decade alone. It helps that Walker has found a kindred spirit in Duke Robillard; the former Roomful Of Blues/Fabulous Thunderbirds guitarist and award-winning solo artist produced Walker's acclaimed 2008 album Witness To The Blues, and the two decided to pair up again for Between A Rock And The Blues. Like much of Walker's extensive catalog, there's not a dull moment here, and the guitarist never fails to entertain and amaze with his chameleon-like talents.
Joe Louis Walker's Between A Rock And The Blues
Mixing his metaphors to maximum effect, Walker's original "I'm Tide" is a full-bore rocker with a raucous bar band feel and big league six-string gymnastics. Using a bit of clever wordplay – the song's title itself is a misappropriation of the language caused by fatigue – Walker describes the many things he's "tired" of, from paying taxes to paying dues, but in true blues fashion he's "sick and tired" of his tired romance most of all. He backs up his words with a couple of wicked guitar solos that would seem more appropriate on any 1970s-era blues-rock album (insert name of band here), and raw vocals that drive home the point like a jackhammer.
On the other hand, Walker's cover of Travis Phillips' jump-n-jive classic "Eyes Like A Cat" is afforded a full-band romp, Walker's guitar taking on a mellow but lively and jazzlike tone while the band swings to and fro behind him. Bruce Katz's nimble piano playing evokes memories of the Ellington 1940s, while a horn section led by saxophonist Doug James blasts away with reckless glee. It's a mark of Walker's talent that he can so easily master the diverse styles of the album's opening numbers and sound credible in doing so.
If There's A Heaven
Walker didn't expend all of his energy with Between A Rock And The Blues' first couple of high-octane tunes, proven by his passionate turn on the soul-blues original "Black Widow Spider." With Katz's organ chiming behind, and a hearty supportive bass line courtesy of Jesse Williams, Walker shares his tale of a venomous love affair, the song's protagonist surviving his brush with a femme fatale although caught in her web. The rhythms here are simply infectious, James' saxplay alluringly subtle, Walker's vocals emotional while his fretwork is elegant and nuanced.
Working with his friend, The Jay Leno Show guitarist Kevin Eubanks, the two artists came up with the blistering "If There's A Heaven." Another houserocking electric blues stomp that displays more than a little Delta grit and Louisiana swamp mud, Walker lays down a bit of bad-ass black cat moan slide-guitar riffery that clashes in all the good ways with Eubanks' ramshackle blues guitar-shred. It's pretty potent musical moment that makes one wonder what kind of evil mojo that Eubanks would be capable of if locked in a studio by himself for a fortnight.
Prisoner Of Misery
"I've Been Down" is the second Walker/Eubanks collaboration on Between A Rock And The Blues, and it's another good 'un, an up-tempo blues-rocker that sounds like it could have been ripped from the Johnny Winter or Stevie Ray Vaughan songbook. With Walker's gruff, almost shouted vocals up front, and a driving rhythm behind, the two guitarists lay down angular notes that run perpendicular to one another while still complimenting the other's skills. For fans of guitar blues, it really doesn't get any better than this, as the spotlight shines squarely on the talents of Walker and Eubanks.
By contrast, Walker's "Prisoner Of Misery" is a smokey, Chicago-styled mid-tempo blues with a fine walking bass, imaginative piano-pounding courtesy of Mr. Katz, and Walker's alternating guitar lines that echo the rhythms part of the time, and dance on top of it with wiry solos at other times. Robillard joins in on the fun with Walker's cover of his "Tell Me Why," Katz's barrelhouse piano complimented by Williams' steady bass rhythm and drummer Mark Teixeira's constant beats and subtle brushwork. The two guitarist's styles are complimentary, although Robillard's tone tends to take a jazzier high road while Walker's dirtier fretwork provides more than its share of cheap thrills and electric chills.
The Reverend's Bottom Line
Whereas 2008's Witness To The Blues was a fine collection of rambling soul, bluesy guitar, big band blues, and rambunctious R&B, Walker's Between A Rock And The Blues lives up to its title, exploring a more of the rock 'n' roll side of the guitarist's persona while downplaying the R&B and jump blues of previous releases.
No matter, 'cause Walker has the skill and the experience, and obviously the creative eye to master whatever styles he chooses. With Between A Rock And The Blues, he lets his freak flag fly, delivering a collection of barn-burner blues-rock and sizzling soul-blues that is sure to satisfy and pacify fans of both styles with stellar performances all around from the guitarist and his seasoned band of merry pranksters. (Stony Plain Records, released September 29, 2009)
