So her present to me for my 70th birthday was a brand-new record deal she had negotiated. My producer, Eric Corne, scoped out a new studio in LA, and my plan was to fly home to make a new album.” In 1998, Trout released his self-titled US debut album and renamed his band 'Walter Trout and the Free Radicals' (later renamed 'Walter Trout and the Radicals' and currently simply 'Walter Trout'). Since, Trout has been recording prolifically and touring in North and Central America, Europe, Australia, and India. Trout still speaks to the modern world with 21st Century energy but he found himself also writing lyrics about his darkest times gone by. These memories include growing up around a cruel, unstable stepfather who had been a prisoner of war, playing guitar for revered-but-difficult blues pioneers John Lee Hooker and Big Mama Thornton, and a stint in an 80s Canned Heat lineup. All this and more gave Trout an endless supply of emotional truth to fuel his creative process. On the final leg of the albums journey we have ‘Hey Mama’ before the penultimate ‘Destiny’. It can’t be ignored that Trout is a master of procuring his albums into stories with each song lending itself as a chapter within. ‘Hey Mama’ feels much like the reconciliation following the last good time blast before ‘Destiny’ acts as the end of night credits rolling soother. Local bands never got the breaks, and in 1973, Trout made the death-or-glory move to LA, where he slept on couches and scrabbled for work. “I came out here and it was a overwhelming thing,” he says, “because I didn’t know anybody. I just started going around to clubs where there were bands playing and asked if I could sit in. My first gig, I was stand-up lead singer in a country band, singing Merle Haggard tunes. And with my third paycheque, I went and bought that Strat that’s still on the cover of all my CDs.”

I think you can interpret this album title a few different ways,” he concludes. “I mean, this album is definitely a musical ride and I certainly tried to cover a lot of ground. But, really, life is kind of a ride too, isn’t it? And I want to live mine to the fullest.”This album is obviously what I was going through mentally and emotionally,” he considers. “All I did was express it. I spent a lot of time crying, because I would dig down into my emotional core. I want my songs to have some sort of truth to them.” Some memories that Trout examines on ‘Ride’ are long-distant but eternally poignant. Photo taken in Los Angeles on 02/21/20. In November 2015, Trout became a patron of The British Liver Trust to help raise awareness and much-needed funding for the cause. Trout, and his wife, Marie have helped raise awareness for Donate Life Nebraska and are also patrons of the Danish Liver Foundation, [10] as well as Organdonation – Ja Tak. [11] "I'm only still here because someone donated their liver" he said. [ citation needed]

While his modern edge and sparkling energy are sure to electrify contemporary fans of the genre, the memories Trout bravely digs up about his dysfunctional childhood and unstable stepfather heavily shape this LP. Even Trout admits there were “times in this pandemic where I sunk into some pretty deep depressions”. Trout joined John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers line-up in ’85, before embarking on an acclaimed solo career from ’89 onwards.A move from California to Denmark with his beloved family. Even now, aged 70, Trout was still writing fresh chapters of his life story. Yates, Henry; Trout, Walter (May 29, 2014). Rescued from Reality: The Life and Times of Walter Trout. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9789082200201– via Google Books. Trout may well have reached another high-water mark with Ride, which is amazing to consider. At the stage of life when many musicians choose to just play the hits, Trout is going artistically hard, pulling more out of his real self than ever and ripping the strings off of his guitar. We should all live this well. Ordinary Madness was completed mere days before the US shutdown, its cathartic songcraft and themes of shared troubles couldn’t chime better with a period in which our souls and spirits are under fire from tumultuous global events.

And that’s not even a digression in this case, because if “Ride” is anything, it’s the product of worry, of anxiety and self-doubt. In 2002, he was featured on the Bo Diddley tribute album, Hey Bo Diddley – A Tribute!, performing the song " Road Runner" and many more guest appearances on other recordings. BREAKING: Blues Music Awards winners announced; Taj Mahal & Keb' Mo's 'TajMo' wins seven awards". Blues.org. May 11, 2018. Walter Trout is undeniably one of the favourite characters on the blues scene. Tremendously skilled, insatiably passionate and quite frankly incapable of being a past time, Trout has been a true staple point of the blues for the past 50 years. The man simply will not quit. Not to say that we’re complaining. Not. One. bit. Ironically, the harmonica-laden and chunky riffathon of “High is Low” might just be the highest of the many highs here. Rich organ textures, crushing percussion, and a guitar solo with a tone to die for add another memorable stop-off along this exciting and varied musical ride.There’s a deeply personal couple to end things too. “Hey Mama” is a match for anything Neil Young ever did, as he pleads to his mother and thanks her for all she did. While “Destiny” is very much a love song to his wife. A beautiful breeze wafts in almost and this one is the one that anchors everything. That makes the “Ride” worth it, to Walter. In 2015, Trout had recovered and returned to performing at the Royal Albert Hall in London. He was introduced onstage by his wife. [9] Walter Trout We're All In This Together Chart History". Billboard.com . Retrieved January 23, 2020. For Walter Trout, there is no ‘us’ and ‘them.’ Across his five-decade career, the great US bluesman’s music has always been a lifeline and call-to-arms, reminding listeners they are not alone. The ballads here are gorgeously bleak. “Waiting for The Dawn” with a very Gary Moore sounding lead is proof. I’d also contend that this doesn’t sound much like any other Walter Trout record. It sounds more raw somehow, “Better Days Ahead” seems to implore by sheer will alone, but it’s balanced out by the more Country tinged “This Fertile Soil”. Naturally, for this record, things are worse than he remembered, and you wouldn’t want it any other way.

There’s an outright slice of hi-octane fun. Walter gets horny, if you will (in the Southside Johnny sense…) on the brilliant “Leave It All Behind”. “Responsibility, politely declined” he sings and does so in such a way that suggests he wouldn’t be so polite if you bothered him again. By now, Trout knows that nobody ever really leaves their old selves behind. But with ‘Ride’ providing an emotional release-valve – both for its creator and his loyal listeners – perhaps this veteran artist can reconcile with his past, accept his future and live in the present as it unfolds. “I think you can interpret this album title a few different ways,” he concludes. “I mean, this album is definitely a musical ride and I certainly tried to cover a lot of ground. But, really, life is kind of a ride too, isn’t it? And I want to live mine to the fullest.” This one-two punch of explosive guitar playing and relentless oomph is classic Trout and a reminder (if one were needed) of the brilliance when he steps his foot on the gas. However it’s not quite full steam ahead from this point as Trout (as he always does) pulls over for the occasional, soul-searching ballad. As we move into the second half of the album we’re blessed with Trout signature protean ways. Personally I think the brilliant thing about Trout is his ability to give each song on his many albums a completely different feel. The blues can only be done a certain amount of ways but it’s with layered production and attention to detail that he succeeds in doing just that.

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Walter Trout (born March 6, 1951 in Ocean City, New Jersey, United States [1]) is an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. day ago LIES!: Dutch metallic hardcore gang drops video for “Propaganda” (ft. Hugo Zerrad – Worst Doubt) via Invisible Oranges; 2nd album comes early December Arriving on the US West Coast two weeks before sessions began, Trout settled to write the Ride material in his now-deserted house in Huntington Beach, California. But even in this beachside paradise, amongst the swaying palms and ocean breeze, the past came calling. The New Jersey maestro spent time in John Mayall’s Blues Breakers and Canned Heat before embarking on a prolific solo career and his most recent releases have seen him at his most creative and powerful yet, from ‘The Blues Came Callin’ (2014) and ‘Battle Scars’ (2015) to ‘We’re All In This Together’ (2017), ‘Survivor Blues’ (2019) and ‘Ordinary Madness (2020). Undeniable blues guitar legend Walter Trout goes deep to reconcile his past, present, and future on his new album Ride.