There can be few sights more harrowing than that of a respected and vivacious artist wasted away to the point of no return. Walter Trout, when SonicAbuse caught him live in 2013, was full of life and energy, but when the promotional pictures emerged for ‘the blues came callin’’, he was reduced in size and his frame had fallen away, leaving a gaunt figure staring out at the viewer from haunted eyes. It is hard to believe that not even a year has passed since a fragile Walter started to re-emerge (could there ever be a more delightful post than that unveiled by Walter’s wife on the official website saying “Today I played guitar for four hours!”?) and yet the indomitable artist has returned with a new, thirteen track album that is teeming with life. Unafraid to face the after-effects of a terrifying, near-death experience, Walter Channels the nervous energy and fearful moments of the darkest chapter of his life into a stunningly life-affirming album that bristles with energy and a newfound love of life. It is heart-felt, heart-warming experience and it’s hard to suppress a cheer when Walter’s voice emerges from the speakers, a little worn, perhaps, but still as vital as it ever was.
The first track says it all. In the hands of any other artist, ‘almost gone’ is more likely to be allegory than biography, but in Walter’s case it is nothing but the gospel truth. You could imagine, therefore, that the track would be a funereal piece, awash with woe, but instead it is delivered like a thunder bolt with Walter unleashing his guitar with all the power of Hendrix over a thunderous backdrop that surged from the speakers with a palpable sense of defiance. Lyrically challenging, it ranks as one of the most honest musical accounts of a life-threatening illness yet committed to tape (‘kickstart my heart’ this most certainly is not!), and yet the music lends the suggestion that whilst death may have been close, it was never inevitable, so strong was Walter’s will to survive. ‘Omaha prelude’ with its wailing ambulance siren and howling feedback feeds directly into ‘Omaha’, a slow-burning piece that sees Walter debating the merits of pain medication (“I need something for the pain, but I don’t wanna get strung out again”) and detailing the horrifying process of hospitalisation in the face of near-certain death. Once again the music refuses to bow to the mental pressure of the illness and so, whilst the lyrics are brutal in their honesty, the blues simply refuses to be cowed and, within the beautiful licks, you can feel the strong pulse of Walter’s personality coming through. This is even more the case in the springy ‘Tomorrow seems so far away’ as Walter sings of salvation and uncertainty over a blues groove that is quite irresistible. The first track on the album that slows the pace musically, ‘Please take me home’ is a slow-burning ballad that is poignant to the point of heart-break, as is the simple, deeply emotional solo at its heart. A cry from the heart, ‘please take me home’ is a love song set against a backdrop of emotional torment and it does a remarkable job of communicating the very real loss Walter and his wife were forced to contemplate. In contrast, ‘playing hideaway’ is an electric jolt that comes tearing form the speakers with ferocious energy.
A slower number with a wonderfully lugubrious lead, ‘haunted by the night’ is as dry as the desert and details the lonely thoughts of a man trapped in a hospital bed facing an uncertain future. There’s beauty here, but also a good deal of darkness and the atypical lead work wails and sobs as Walter surely wished to at times. The nadir of the album, it’s a wonderful song, but it captures Walter at his lowest ebb and it’s hard to imagine anyone doing a better job of bottling their emotions as Walter does here. You can’t keep a good man down, however, and ‘Fly away’ is pure driving rock as Walter fantasizes about escaping from it all and the sense of hope and freedom contrasts wonderfully with the darkness of the preceding track. No less inspiring is the gritty ‘Move on’ sees Walter stabbing away with his guitar over a hard-driving backing as the narrator comes to terms with how his experiences have affected his world view and a blistering solo fills the listener with newfound hope. On the punchy ‘My ship came in’, a track awash with harmonica and nimble guitar work, Walter seems caught between despair and hope as the possibility of redemption vanishes from his grasp. ‘Cold, cold ground’ has a mid-tempo swing to it, recalling the dusty blues found in David Lynch movies, as Walter sings of his refusal to come to terms with death “I could hear the angels, but I couldn’t stand the sound” and the gritty defiance gives way to the beautiful, acoustic ‘Gonna live again’ in which Walter realises that his life will continue. What a heart rending moment as he honestly assesses a life that may not have been perfect and comes to the conclusion that this chance of salvation must be grabbed with both hands. The stripped down approach works perfectly, but the tears that the listener will shed here are ones of joy as Walter claws his way back from the brink. The album concludes with ‘Sammy, Sammy’ a simple organ chord courtesy of long-time Trout collaborator Sammy Avila that feels somehow as joyous as any full-length song.
In the wrong hands ‘battle scars’ could have been a self-indulgent nightmare, but Walter Trout never lets the album slip into pathos. Whilst the lyrics detail the many lows and insights of Walter’s illness with unflinching honesty, the music represents Walter’s spirit and it is rarely bowed. Whether you’re a new convert to Walter Trout or a long-time fan, it is impossible not to reach the conclusion of the album without feeling that you’ve spent at least a little part of Walter’s journey alongside him and, in doing so, you have shared in his newfound appreciation for life. Such a quality cannot be understated, and few artists could achieve such a remarkable feat. Walter Trout is a living legend. He is as honest a blues artist as walks this earth and his music and his voice would have resonated through the ages even without the addition of this beautiful masterpiece to his catalogue. An album should be a journey, and ‘battle scars’ is one the most honest and rewarding journeys I have yet been on with an artist. This is a testament to one of the greatest characters of the blues and the fact that Walter survived to tell his tale is nothing short of a miracle. This is, without doubt, the most triumphant album of the year and I recommend it wholeheartedly.
