It’s Joe Louis Walker talking, a man who goes through passports way faster than 99 per cent of Americans, and a man who does everything he can to refresh his timeless music.
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 September 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.
For more information contact Just Roots PR.
