Label: Provogue Records/Mascot Label Group
Release date: March 1, 2024
Production: Eric Corne
Album length: 57:54 min
Genre: Blues Rock
Rating: 8.5/10
With a run of albums, the latest being “Broken” – and buckle up, because it’s his thirty-first already – Walter Trout has become a blues rock icon who’s hard to pin down. In recent years the venerable blues singer-songwriter has been enjoying a true renaissance, putting out one studio album after another at intervals of less than two years, and without showing the slightest sign of running out of ideas! He’s still riding high on a giant wave of creative inspiration.
And the new album “Broken” is no different! It’s another blues rock treat cooked up from the one-of-a-kind recipe of this colorful musical artist. For lyrical inspiration on the new record, Walter Trout turned to the chronicle of current events: the atrophy, the breakdown, of the healthy norms, standards and morals that are supposed to define the essence of any civilized society. Speaking about an album that expresses anger on one side and calm on the other, the famed bluesman says: “I’ve always tried to write positive songs, but this new album isn’t exactly that. Despite everything that’s going on, I always hold on to hope. I think that’s exactly why I wrote this album.”
So the album is another adventure that’s deeply personal and confessional, and this time Walter doesn’t hold back on moments of rage and anger. That comes through especially in the surprisingly hard-rocking, in-your-face moments like I Had Enough, a vocal duet with Twisted Sister star Dee Snider. After the avalanche of adrenaline rush in I Had Enough, Walter calms the album down with the brilliant instrumental Love Of My Life, followed by the sensual, melancholic Breathe. Next comes another surprisingly fired-up moment, the tightly lashing Heaven Or Hell, with its rhythm propped up by a cowbell, which in turn gives way to the quiet I Wanna Stay and the closing Falls Apart. Falls Apart is another standout moment, delivering the album’s highest musical payoff, with a top-notch chorus melody craftily dressed up in layered vocal harmonies. The album rolls with dynamics and vibrant moods. It’s deeply organic, warm, and feels ‘live’, with Trout keeping his status as a refined grandmaster of colorful guitar wizardry, which is simply demanded of him.
The album opens with one of its strongest moments – the title track Broken. It’s a ‘chunky’ blues ballad that grabs you right from the first listen. Singer Beth Hart joins Walter in a vocal duet with her unmistakable vocal contour, which adds a distinctive charge to the song. Trout wanted to underline the song’s message here and contrast it with a female voice, and that fires on all cylinders. Still, with her trademark vocal dossier, Beth is dominant throughout, which isn’t necessarily thrilling. It’s clear that Walter Trout doesn’t need vocal duets. His own vocal presence is enough. Purists may even be bothered by his voice being overlaid in a duet. A similar realization comes from combining his vocal with Dee Snider’s in I Had Enough. But Trout obviously wanted a guest with an especially aggressive, raspy approach on the album, and with Snider that’s definitely not something you miss. The song Bleed is the boogie moment of the new album, the kind Trout has mostly steered clear of on his records, even though he once played with, among others, Canned Heat and John Lee Hooker. The song is seasoned with improvised harmonica licks from the album’s third guest, Will Wilde.
“Broken” is an album of exceptional atmospheric dynamics in how things unfold. It keeps the listener busy nonstop and never lets them breathe. In every respect of its expressionist touch. It reaches intensely into even the most distant corners of the soul. You can hardly go deeper. Once again. Walter Trout, who turns 73 on March 6, 2024, remains a grandmaster of his musical craft. A unique, penetrating artistic stance that’s all his own. The more fragile and broken it is, the harder it grips. With “Broken,” Walter Trout remains among the greatest still-active giants of ‘white blues’ who are still stomping around the surface of this planet. And he’s far from having said his last word. There’s still plenty of creative fuel left in the tank. And that’s very, very good!
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Track list:
1. Broken (feat. Beth Hart)
2. Turn And Walk Away
3. Courage In The Dark
4. Bleed (feat. Will Wilde)
5. Talkin’ To Myself
6. No Magic (in the street)
7. I’ve Had Enough (feat. Dee Snider)
8. Love Of My Life
9. Breathe
10. Heaven Or Hell
11. I Wanna Stay
12. Falls Apart
Lineup:
Walter Trout – vocals (1-7, 9-12), guitar, electric sitar (4), harmonica (2, 6)
Skip Edwards – Hammond organ (1, 2, 5, 12), Wurlizer piano (8, 11)
Thomas Ross Johanssen – Wurlizer piano (1, 2, 3, 5, 10), Rhodes electric piano (8), Hammond organ (3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11), Omnichord (10, 12), orchestral bells (9), cowbell (10), backing vocals (10)
Teddy Andreadis – Hammond organ (3), Wurlizer piano (3, 6)
Richard T Bear – Hammond organ (9)
Jon Trout – guitar (10)
Jamie Hunting – bass guitar
Michael Leasure – drums
Stevie Blacks – string arrangements and strings (8)
Vera Armbruster – lever harp (8)
Biscuit Brændgård – vocal arrangements (12) & backing vocals (12)
Eric Corne – keyboards (1), shaker (7), acoustic guitar (9), backing vocals (2, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12)
Wally Bass – backing vocals (10)
Special guests:
Beth Heart – vocals (1)
Dee Snider – vocals (7)
Will Wilde – harmonica (4)
