WALTER TROUT-Survivor Blues

Provogue/Mascot Records

Walter Trout always comes up trumps when it comes to a new CD. In the booklet he writes about the fact that he quite often finds that listening to old blues songs gives him the chance to cope with life in general. I suppose we all have days that things don’t go to plan, we all worry about our loved ones, our own mortality and music is a perfect way to cope with those feelings. Trout often listens to old blues songs to make him feel better so the idea to record a bunch of them must have played through his mind on a regular bases. On ‘Survivor Blues’ he has recorded twelve songs by known and maybe also unknown blues musicians. I mean B.B. King is a household name in music, as are Elmore James, Otis Rush and John Mayall (who for years had Walter Trout in his band as guitarist before Walter started his solo career). ‘Survivor Blues’ has become a Walter Trout CD as he made the songs his own with his trademark voice and his great guitar playing. ‘Survivor Blues’ is also a CD that showcases the variety that blues (rock) has to offer. Okay, lyric wise is it often about broken down relationships, sadness and bad luck but blues is for me first and foremost about emotion and there is plenty of that to be heard. It all starts with an immaculate version of the Jimmy Dawkins song ,,Me, My Guitar And The Blues’’ where Walter really lets his guitar rip, making it howl, cry and letting out his emotions. That song sets the tone for an album that is pure, authentic and brutally honest. You might not like all interpretations of the songs perhaps but believe me when I say that the voice of Walter Trout, his guitar and the blues are a match made in heaven! ‘Survivor Blues’ is the ultimate statement and proof of that.