Review WALTER TROUT ‘Ride’

Almost exactly two years ago Walter Trout released ‘Ordinary Madness’ which showed again why the singer and guitarist belongs to the giants of blues. The exceptional musician from New Jersey started with Canned Heat before he made his solo debut in 1994 with ‘Tellin’ Stories’. Since then, Trout has become an essential part of the blues scene.

There was a small dip in 2014 when Trout had to undergo a liver transplant. Fortunately, everything went well and Trout returned with old strength and new energy.

These days, ‘Ride’, a new studio album will be released. Walter Trout is again in top shape and presents twelve energetic and soulful blues rock songs that immediately know how to please.

With ‘Waiting fort he Dawn’ there was already a first taste of what to expect from the album. It is a slow and melancholic track, which says more than a thousand words through a soulfully singing guitar. The song describes in an impressive way Trout’s emotional state during the pandemic, moments when thoughts came up whether all this still makes any sense. Fortunately, the answer was a ‘yes’ and the song is like a catalyst in a way.

Trout didn’t have the easiest childhood and it had an impact on ‘Ride’. The blues veteran uses his guitar to express all these feelings while the lyrics tell the underlying story. This unity makes ‘Ride’ an album both authentic and emotionally charged.

It all starts with ‘Ghost.’ The song is the perfect door opener for the record. Slow and powerful rhythms start the album and draw you straight into ‘Ride’.

The title track follows. It is a swinging song in which Trout describes a life next to the railroad tracks, which are a symbol of freedom. It is the locomotives that pass by, which represent a way out of the troubles of everyday life and in a way symbolize hope and future.

As mentioned before, the album is full of individual stories in which Trout processes his own history. ‘Hey Mama’ is such an emotional highlight. In the song, Trout describes the tension between adoring his mother and, on the other hand, the missed opportunity that she could have done more to protect her son from his father. It hardly gets more personal than that.

‘Ride’, this is an emotional journey with blues rock as an outlet and means of artistic expression. Walter Trout creates another treat for blues rock fans and shows in an amazing way that music lives only through feelings and that sometimes it is the well-sounding guitar sound that says more than a thousand words.