Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:36
Size: 120.4 MB
Styles: Texas blues
Year: 2015
Art: Front
[5:02] 1. Everybody Wants A Piece
[3:01] 2. Do I Love Her
[4:59] 3. Buzz On You
[5:54] 4. Black & Blue
[5:10] 5. Witchcraft
[4:33] 6. One Sunny Day
[5:52] 7. Gospel Blues
[6:26] 8. Wade In The Water
[3:13] 9. Man Of Many Words
[4:14] 10. Young Girls Blues
[4:06] 11. 35 Years Old
Joe Louis Walker is one of the most interesting guitarists on the contemporary blues scene, not to mention one of the most prolific; 2015's Everybody Wants a Piece is Walker's 25th album since he made his debut with 1986's Cold Is the Night, and it hardly sounds like the work of someone padding his résumé. Walker is a player who keeps his music lively by mixing up the formula, folding plenty of rock, R&B, and Latin influences into his work instead of laying out the typical 12-bar figures all over again, and Everybody Wants a Piece finds him shaking it up with impressive results, especially on the wah-wah-fortified and rocked-up cover of "Witchcraft," a slinky interpretation of "Wade in the Water" that mixes up gospel and funk influences, the rollicking boogie-woogie of "Buzz on You," and the slide guitar shuffle of "35 Years Old." Walker and his band -- Lenny Bradford on bass, Phillip Young on keys, and Byron Cage on drums -- are in tight form on these sessions, sounding solidly professional but just fresh enough that these tunes still have plenty of life. Everybody Wants a Piece is a fine piece of work that unfortunately suffers in comparison to the albums that came before it; while 2012's Hellfire and 2014's Hornet's Nest found Walker expanding his boundaries even more than usual and making thoughtful use of the studio, this set is strong but takes fewer risks, and Paul Nelson's production is clean but workmanlike, capturing the performances but not giving them any added textures that would bring out the nuances of this fine band in action. But if this isn't a great Joe Louis Walker album, it's still a pretty good one, and the man's stellar soloing, biting harp work, and forceful vocals are reason enough for anyone who digs contemporary blues to give this a few spins. ~Mark Deming
Everybody Wants A Piece
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:31
Size: 124.8 MB
Styles: Texas blues
Year: 2004
Art: Front
[5:23] 1. Do You Love Me
[5:16] 2. Custom Car, Gibson Guitars
[6:58] 3. Messed My Mind
[6:43] 4. New Direction
[6:20] 5. You Don't Love Me
[4:16] 6. Tempting Me
[5:07] 7. Soldier For Jesus
[5:16] 8. Mr. G's Boogie
[4:55] 9. Ain't That Cold
[4:13] 10. Lena
Joe Louis Walker is quite the triple threat. Not only is he a superb blues guitarist, with remarkable fluency and imagination, he's also an excellent singer (as you might expect from someone who came up through gospel groups), and an excellent writer with a strong penchant for soul music. For the most part, his blues isn't the heart-wrenching type, but deals with mistrust and double-dealing ("Messed My Mind Up") and good times ("Custom Cars, Gibson Guitars"). Throughout he blurs the line between blues and soul, which effectively makes this one of the best soul albums in a long time, as he shows on "Do You Love Me" and "You Don't Love Me Girl." With "Soldier for Jesus" his blues mixes with gospel, and some wonderful guitar work. With a small band -- bass, drums keys -- that truly swings, he keeps center stage, which is what he needs. Whether keeping rhythm guitar gliding behind his vocals, or shining as he does on "Mr. G's Boogie," his fretwork is fresh, wonderfully clean, and played with the kind of style and imagination all too often missing these days. Indeed, about the only misstep on the record is "Tempting Me," which talks up how much he's loved by the women when he's on the stage. Maybe it's tongue in cheek, but it also comes across as filler next to the other songs. And the closer, "Lena," tails everything off with a lyrical joy. A superb record from someone who might just be the best contemporary bluesman. ~Chris Nickson
New Direction
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