Blue Soul (Joe Louis Walker album)

Blue Soul is an album by the American musician Joe Louis Walker, released in 1989.[2][3] Walker supported the album with a North American tour, backed by the Boss Talkers.[4][5]

Blue Soul
Studio album by
Joe Louis Walker
Released1989
GenreBlues
LabelHighTone[1]
ProducerJoe Louis Walker
Joe Louis Walker chronology
The Gift
(1988)		 Blue Soul
(1989)		 Live at Slim's, Volume One
(1991)

Blue Soul was nominated for a Bammy Award, in the "Outstanding Blues Album" category.[6]

Production

The album was produced by Walker; he also wrote the horn arrangements.[7][8] It incorporated hard blues, gospel, and folk blues sounds.[9] "Personal Baby" is about the virtues of fidelity in a relationship.[10] David Hidalgo played accordion on "Ain't Nothin' Goin' On".[11] "I'll Get to Heaven on My Own" is performed with just Walker's voice and slide guitar.[12] "Prove Your Love" is a soul song with overdubbed vocals.[13]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[14]
Chicago Tribune[10]
Robert ChristgauB[15]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[16]
MusicHound Blues: The Essential Album Guide[7]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings[12]
Tulsa Tribune[13]

Robert Christgau deemed the "unsoullike, unaccompanied" "I'll Get to Heaven on My Own" the album's "standout" song.[15] The New York Times wrote that Walker's voice "is weather-beaten but ready for more; his guitar solos are fast, wiry and incisive, often starting out with impetuous squiggles before moaning with bluesy despair."[17] The Fayetteville Observer warned that "Walker nears Las Vegas-style schmaltz on a couple of early tracks."[18]

The Province noted that Walker "applies his light-fingered, spare guitar style to a variety of blues-styling, including soul and gospel."[19] The Chicago Tribune stated that Walker has "a contemporary style heavily influenced by B.B. King and the Stax sound, an impressive ability on guitar and an appealing vocal style marked a strangely velvety cragginess."[10]

AllMusic praised the "vicious guitar from one of the hottest relatively young bluesmen on the circuit."[14]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Prove Your Love" 
2."Ain't Nothin' Goin' On" 
3."T.L.C." 
4."Personal Baby" 
5."Since You've Been Gone" 
6."Alligator" 
7."Dead Sea" 
8."City of Angels" 
9."I'll Get to Heaven on My Own" 

References
  1. Herzhaft, Gérard (September 16, 1997). "Encyclopedia of the Blues-2nd (p)". University of Arkansas Press – via Google Books.
  2. "Joe Louis Walker Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. Kelton, Jim (December 1, 1989). "'BLUE SOUL' Joe Louis Walker". The Fresno Bee. The Everett Herald. p. F8.
  4. Mackie, John (14 June 1990). "A breath of blues". Vancouver Sun. p. F13.
  5. Haeseker, Fred (22 June 1990). "Blues great waits for stardom". Calgary Herald. p. E1.
  6. Sumrall, Harry (December 1, 1989). "DEAD LEAD BAMMIE NOMINEES". San Jose Mercury News. p. 1F.
  7. MusicHound Blues: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 377.
  8. Toombs, Mikel (December 9, 1989). "Joe Louis Walker 'blue' despite great album". The San Diego Union-Tribune. p. E9.
  9. Dicaire, David (November 5, 2015). "More Blues Singers: Biographies of 50 Artists from the Later 20th Century". McFarland – via Google Books.
  10. Heim, Chris (1 Mar 1990). "Joe Louis Walker Blue Soul". Tempo. Chicago Tribune. p. 16.
  11. Kanzler, George (November 19, 1989). "NEW RELEASES CONFIRM STATUS OF 2 BLUESMEN AS AMONG BEST". News. The Star-Ledger.
  12. The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin Books Ltd. 2006. p. 673.
  13. Widner, Ellis (March 23, 1990). "Music reviews". Tulsa Tribune. p. 9B.
  14. "Joe Louis Walker - Blue Soul Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  15. "Robert Christgau: CG: Joe Louis Walker". www.robertchristgau.com.
  16. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 8. MUZE. p. 482.
  17. Pareles, Jon (22 Dec 1989). "Blues Album of the Week". The New York Times. p. C26.
  18. Nelson, Chris (December 24, 1989). "JOE LOUIS WALKER'S 'BLUE SOUL' IS WORTH THE SEARCH". Leisure. The Fayetteville Observer.
  19. Wyman, Max (12 Jan 1990). "One way to fight the mid-winter blues...". The Province. p. P2.
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