Ruf Records 1083
#1 The name of Walter Trout is recognised by the fans world over who cherish his uncompromising, no holds barred approach to blues rock idiom. Guitarist extraordinaire Walter Trout is much welcome figure to any music celebration, be it big arena stadium or small club full of devoted music lovers. His aggressive guitar playing unlike most of his competition is full of emotion and his every gig is 100 per cent pure musical happening Walter Trout style. He has thirty-five years of hard work behind him, years of searching his own voice, honed craft with the masters like John Mayall, total dedication to his work and it shows with every new record he makes. “Relentless” is a natural progression of his art and probably his best work to date. As far as I know, he also is most likely the first artist who had prepared new, original music and instead of studio, recorded it in front of his fans! Lucky people in attendance were gathered in famous Paradiso club in Amsterdam where Walter delivered what he had and how! He is also one of the few artists whose discograhy includes more live albums than the studio ones, it’s simple to understand that: Walter Trout can be best sampled in live setting, raw and unpolished. “Relentless” is the title that says it all, a bunch of original songs that reflect his life, years of struggle, ups and downs of working musician and plainly the happiness of being alive and making people happy. This is powerful staff that oozes with passion and feeling of the man who has gone a long way. Fourteen songs present Walter at his best, his songwriting is exceptional, each song is a story of his life, experience and vision. Backed by his exceptional band The Radicals, Walter Trout starts the festivities with heavy opener “I’m Tired” that sets the pace and indicates what is to follow, around 75 minutes of pure blues rock delight! “The Life I Choose” is Little Feat type rocker which just might be his life-on-the-road sountrack, while acoustic“Jericho Road”, “Lonely Tonight” and “Cry If You want To” are ballads not usually associated with his style of rock, but are adding nice touch to the proceedings with his emotional vocal delivery. “Work No More” is pure blues in definitive Walter Trout delivery, you just cannot avoid being mesmerized by his abilities to deliver what he does best! Others my try but nobody touches Walter on his ground! Few rockers like like “Helpin’ Hand” with its nod to The Rolling Stones, “Chatroom Girl” and “Collingswood” add his usual spice to the whole picture with guitar solos which resonate in your head for some time after you listened to “Relentless” album, after all its title that explains it all! This is premier league blues rocking material, if you are into this stuff miss it at your peril!