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Joe Louis Walker's "Hellfire" Set for January 31 Release

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On January 31, Alligator Records will release Joe Louis Walker's Hellfire.

Hellfire was produced by songwriter/drummer Tom Hambridge (producer of Buddy Guy's two most recent Grammy-winning CDs, Skin Deep and Living Proof, as well as albums for Susan Tedeschi, George Thorogood and others), From the psychedelic overtones of the title track (a harrowing and personal tale of the struggle of good versus evil) to the slow, simmering and pleading “What's It Worth" to the Stones-y rocker “Ride All Night," Hellfire is the work of a man possessed. Walker's original showstopper “Soldier For Jesus" (featuring vocal harmonies from The Jordanaires, who also appear on “Don't Cry") fits seamlessly alongside the other selections, making perfect thematic sense in the tradition of Al Green, Marvin Gaye or Prince, who all successfully combined carnal desires and gospel devotion.

Joe Louis Walker, was born, raised and schooled in San Francisco's Fillmore district. The award-winning guitar slinger, deeply soulful vocalist and gifted songwriter has been releasing groundbreaking music since 1986, but his career goes all the way back to the mid-1960s. As a 16-year-old, he was the house guitarist at San Francisco's famed musical playground, The Matrix, where he played with or opened shows for everyone from Lightnin' Hopkins (who once threw him off the stage) to Jimi Hendrix to Thelonious Monk. These ear-opening surroundings explain the ease with which Walker blends blues, rock, gospel, jazz and country, making it seem as if the walls between the styles never existed in the first place. The New York Times raves, “Walker is a singer with a Cadillac of a voice. He delivers no-nonsense, gutsy blues. His guitar solos are fast, wiry and incisive, moaning with bluesy despair." According to Living Blues, he is “one of today's modern musical masters." Rolling Stone simply calls him “ferocious."

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