ALBUM REVIEW: Between a Rock and the Blues by Joe Louis Walker

By E. F Nesta

Joe Louis Walker, the tireless performer, lets loose with his guitar and vocals using a mix of blues, rock and roll, funk, R&B, and soul on his release Between a Rock and The Blues.

Between a Rock and The Blues: I'm Tide; Eyes Like a Cat; Black Widow Spider; If There's A heaven; Way Too Expensive; I've Been Down; Prisoner of Misery; Hallways; Tell Me Why; Blackjack; Big Fine Woman; Send You Back

Personnel: Joe Louis Walker: Electric Guitar, Slide Guitar, Vocals; Bruce Katz: Piano, Organ; Jesse Williams: Electric and Acoustic Guitar; Mark Teixeira: Drums, Percussion; Duke Robillard: Electric Guitar (Track 9); Doug James: Saxophone; Carl Queforth: Trombone; Sugar Ray Norcia: Harp; Kevin Eubanks: Electric Guitar (Tracks 4, 6); Henry Oden: Electric Bass (Tracks 4, 6); Ellis Eugene Blacknell, Jr.: Piano, Organ (Tracks 4, 6); Jeff Minnieweather: Drums (Tracks 4, 6)

Joe Louis Walker - Between a Rock and The Blues is the 20th release for this tireless musician whose motto is "Play everywhere, all the time, as often as I possibly can." Between a Rock and The Blues was produced by Duke Robillard and released on the Stony Plain Records label. A blend of blues, rock and roll, Rhythm and Blues, funk, and soul, Joe Louis Walker has not slowed down and has no intention to do so; his energy makes his driving sound distinct, and it creates a mix of exhilaration and satisfaction.

Not wasting any time, he opens with a blistering pace on I'm Tide letting everyone know that he is still around and ready to attack his guitar. The lyrics reflect the pace he has set for himself as he works to get his music to the masses, "I'm tide of paying taxes, I'm tide of paying dues, I'm getting sick and tide, sick and tide of you..." The track Eyes Like a Cat features a traditional blues tempo emphasized by Joe's torrid guitar work and the horn section ringing in to accent his vocals.

Black Widow Spider, like many of his songs, was influenced from personal relationships. He holds nothing back in his lyrics, though he seamlessly adds a nice dose of levity, while his guitar work speaks for itself. The track If There's a Heaven is down and dirty and Joe's guitar work is raw and emotional that complements his lyrics "If There's a Heaven, I won't have to go to hell, cause I did some crimes, and I did some time in the county jail..."

The track Way Too Expensive has a sassy overtone as he sings about filling his gas tank and "...it is way too expensive for me." His arrangement uses the horn section to punctuate his point of things being "Way Too Expensive." I've Been Down is a deep blues sound that Joe matches flawlessly with emotional vocals "I've Been Down so long, getting up never crossed my mind... I've got the blues all the time." Prisoner of Misery is another blues track that draws its inference from his personal life and you can feel his misery and torture ooze from his guitar work and his moving vocals.

The release also includes the tracks Hallways a slow R&B song that shows the depth of Joe's vocal prowess as he serves up lyrics that are emotional and heartrending, Tell Me Why is a frolicking blues and rock and roll track with a catchy melody and lyrics, Blackjack another deep blues track that sums up the life of a gambler "I cannot even borrow a nickel, I have almost lost my mind. Because every dollar that I get, Blackjack takes away from me," Big Fine Women a saucy rock and roll with a dash of funk track, and closes with Send You Back featuring Sugar Ray Norcia playing a haunting harp.

Websites where you can procure Joe Louis Walker - Between a Rock and The Blues are Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Stony Plain Records, iTunes, and Discovery Records.

E.F Nesta is the owner, contributing writer, and Publisher of Luxury Experience (http://www.LuxuryExperience.com). Luxury Experience is a monthly on-line publication, which is read in over 80 countries with a reach of over 100,000. Luxury Experience features experiential articles on luxury products and services; we do not book reservations or sell products on-line. Luxury Experience's mission is to provide experiential editorial exposure on luxury products and services, and introduce brands and products to an audience across 80+ countries. Luxury Experience is a team of high-energy professionals who bring a broad and extensive international background to their writing.

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